Martin Heinrich Rathke (25 August 1793, Danzig – 3 September 1860, Königsberg) 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. Along with Karl Ernst von Baer 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 He was the father of chemist

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, later relocating to Berlin, where he received his doctorate in medicine (1818). In 1828 he was named professor of physiology, pathology and semiotics at the University of Dorpat. In 1832/33 he undertook research expeditions to Finland and to the Crimea. Rathke was a professor of zoology and anatomy at Königsberg from 1835 to 1860. In 1839, while based in Königsberg, he travelled to Scandinavia, 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 arches in the embryos of mammals 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, from which the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland develops. He was the first to discover that the amphioxus was a separate taxa, and not the larvae of a mollusk, as previously thought. He was the author of several writings on crustaceans, mollusks and worms, and also the author of works on vertebrates, such as the lemming 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, F. C. W. Vogel, 1832–1833. * "Ueber die Entstehung der Glandula pituitaria". ''Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medicin'', Berlin, 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
@ Who Named It

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