Science Art: Figure 3, Transverse Section of a Single Cell by F. Bauer, Esq., F.R.S., 1827.

Fig3TransverseSectionofaCell
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Take a deep breath.

This is the inside of your lung, seen really closely. At the time his was drawn, we weren’t really sure what it did, other than… breathe.

It’s from a An Examination into the Structure of the Cells of the Human Lungs; with a View to Ascertain the Office They Perform in Respiration, a rather short article (no, really) published a couple of centuries ago in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.