[History of microscopy in Spain]

Nowadays, many Spanish research centers have excellent electronic microscopy services. The current situation, however, should not allow us to forget that the initial steps of microscopy in Spain were very difficult. The construction of excellent optical microscopies in the late XIX century, and their almost immediate introduction in Spain, coincides with a period of thriving scientific activity in our country. Both micrography and histology saw the highlights of their development in Spain, with scientists such as Ramón y Cajal, Río Hortega, Ferrán, Simarro, among others, all of them widely known at present. This article evokes briefly the vicissitudes of Spanish microscopy, from its very beginning in 1843, when the Allgemeine Anatomie by Jacob Henle was translated into Spanish, to present. Scientific historical facts in this article are often accompanied with anecdotes, which show the human aspect of those great scientists. The persevering task carried out by researchers whose names have been recorded in the history of Spanish science and technology, have established the grounds in which our current development is based.