The development of university biological laboratories Between 1850 and 1880 every Dutch university was furnished with a botanical and zoological laboratory. The new institutions owed their existence to initiatives of the professors concerned. The laboratories were first of all intended to satisfy the growing demand for practical instruction. Besides they also served research purposes. The emergence of disciplines like microscopical biology, plantphysiology and the anatomy and embryology of marine invertebrates greatly contributed to the foundation of laboratories. Their first accommodation was generally rather primitive: a few vacant rooms in one of the university buildings. Around 1880 most of the laboratories had moved to their own premises and possessed the necessary equipment for their tasks in education and research. The laboratories also functioned as museums. The herbarium and the zoological collections were part of resp. the botanical and the zoological laboratory.