Martin Heinrich Rathke (25 August 1793, Danzig – 3 September 1860,

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

) was a German

embryologist Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. Along with

Karl Ernst von Baer Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer Edler von Huthorn ( – ) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and is considered a, or the, founding father of embryology. He was ...

and

Christian Heinrich Pander Heinz Christian Pander, also Christian Heinrich Pander ( – ), was a Russian Empire ethnic Baltic German biologist and embryologist. Biography In 1817 he received his doctorate from the University of Würzburg, and spent several years (1827� ...

, he is recognized as one of the founders of modern embryology.Martin Heinrich Rathke
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

He was the father of

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

Bernhard Rathke Heinrich Bernhard Rathke (20 January 1840 in Königsberg – 14 August 1923 in Bad Reichenhall) was a German chemist. He was the son of embryologist Martin Rathke. He studied natural sciences at the University of Königsberg, and afterwards w ...

(1840–1923). He studied medicine and natural history at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, later relocating to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he received his doctorate in medicine (1818). In 1828 he was named professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

and

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

at the

University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. In 1832/33 he undertook research expeditions to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Rathke was a professor of

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and anatomy at

from 1835 to 1860. In 1839, while based in Königsberg, he travelled to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, where he conducted studies of marine organisms. He studied marine organisms and the embryonic development of sex organs. He was the first to describe the

brachial cleft A pharyngeal groove (or branchial groove, or pharyngeal cleft) is made up of ectoderm unlike its counterpart the pharyngeal pouch on the endodermal side. The first pharyngeal groove produces the external auditory meatus (ear canal). The rest (2, ...

s and

gill arch Branchial arches, or gill arches, are a series of bony "loops" present in fish, which support the gills. As gills are the primitive condition of vertebrates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the eventual fate of these arc ...

es in the embryos of

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

and

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

. He also first described in 1839 the embryonic structure, now known as

Rathke's pouch In embryogenesis, Rathke's pouch is an evagination at the roof of the developing mouth in front of the buccopharyngeal membrane. It gives rise to the anterior pituitary (adenohypophysis), a part of the endocrine system. Development Rathke's pouc ...

, from which the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland develops. He was the first to discover that the

amphioxus The lancelets ( or ), also known as amphioxi (singular: amphioxus ), consist of some 30 to 35 species of "fish-like" benthic filter feeding chordates in the order Amphioxiformes. They are the modern representatives of the subphylum Cephalochorda ...

was a separate taxa, and not the larvae of a

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

, as previously thought. He was the author of several writings on

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

, mollusks and worms, and also the author of works on

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s, such as the

lemming A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...

and various

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

Selected works

* ''Abhandlungen zur Bildungs- und Entwicklungs-Geschichte der Menschen und der Thiere''. two volumes.

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, F. C. W. Vogel, 1832–1833. * "Ueber die Entstehung der Glandula pituitaria". ''Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medicin'',

, 1838: 482–485. * ''Bemerkungen über den Bau des Amphioxus lanceolatus, eines Fisches aus der Ordnung der Cyclostomas''. Königsberg, 1841. * ''Entwicklungsgeschichte der Wirbeltiere''. Leipzig 1861. (A highly praised work in

comparative embryology Comparative embryology is the branch of embryology that compares and contrasts embryos of different species, showing how all animals are related. History Aristotle was the earliest person in recorded history to study embryos. Observing embryos of ...

that was published posthumously by

Albert von Kölliker Albert von Kölliker (born Rudolf Albert Kölliker'';'' 6 July 18172 November 1905) was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, and histologist. Biography Albert Kölliker was born in Zurich, Switzerland. His early education was carried on in Zurich, ...

at the request of Rathke's son).Bibliography of Rathke
@

References

* "Parts of this article is based on translated text from an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

. 1793 births 1860 deaths German carcinologists German embryologists 19th-century German zoologists Scientists from Gdańsk People from West Prussia University of Göttingen alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Tartu faculty University of Königsberg faculty Foreign Members of the Royal Society Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences {{Germany-biologist-stub