Karl Bogislaus Reichert (20 December 1811 – 21 December 1883) was a German

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 it ...

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 histologist.

Biography

Reichert was born in Rastenburg (Kętrzyn),

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. From 1831 he studied at the University of Konigsberg, where he was a student of embryologist Karl Ernst Baer, then continued his education in

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 constitu ...

under

Friedrich Schlemm Friedrich Schlemm (11 December 1795 – 27 May 1858) was a German anatomist who was professor at the University of Berlin. He was born in Salzgitter. As his family could not afford higher education, he was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon in Brauns ...

and

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

. In 1836 he received his doctorate with a dissertation on the

gill arches 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 ...

of vertebrate embryos.The Virtual Laboratory; Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life
(biography) Afterwards, he worked as an intern at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research C ...

, and from 1839 to 1843, served as an assistant and prosector at the University of Berlin.Reichert, Karl Bogislaus
Deutsche Biographie In 1843 he attained the chair of anatomy 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 ...

, and ten years later, succeeded

Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold Prof Karl (Carl) Theodor Ernst von Siebold FRS(For) HFRSE (16 February 1804 – 7 April 1885) was a German physiologist and zoologist. He was responsible for the introduction of the taxa Arthropoda and Rhizopoda, and for defining the taxon Protoz ...

as 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 chemic ...

at the University of Breslau. In 1858 he returned to Berlin as chair of anatomy, where he succeeded his former mentor, Johannes Peter Müller. Reichert is remembered for his work in

embryology 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 embr ...

, and for his pioneer research in cell theory. With

Ernst Gaupp Ernst Wilhelm Theodor Gaupp (13 July 1865 – 23 November 1916) was a German anatomist from Beuthen in Upper Silesia (today Bytom, Poland). He studied natural sciences and medicine in Jena, Königsberg and Breslau, where he received his doctor ...

, he was co-architect of the

Reichert–Gaupp theory The evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles was an evolutionary event that resulted in the formation of the bones of the mammalian middle ear. These bones, or ossicles, are a defining characteristic of all mammals. The event is well-documented an ...

concerning the origin of mammalian

ossicles The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three bones in either middle ear that are among the smallest bones in the human body. They serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea). The absence of the auditor ...

of the ear. His name is lent to the eponymous "Reichert's cartilage", described as a cartilaginous structure in the second branchial arch from which develop the

temporal styloid process The temporal styloid process is a slender bony process of the temporal bone extending downward and forward from the undersurface of the temporal bone just below the ear. The styloid process gives attachments to several muscles, and ligaments. Stru ...

es, the

stylohyoid ligament The stylohyoid ligament is a ligament that connects the hyoid bone to the temporal styloid process (of the temporal bone of the skull). Structure The stylohyoid ligament connects the lesser horn of hyoid bone to the styloid process of the t ...

s, and the lesser cornu of the hyoid bone.

Written works

* ''De embryonum arcubus sic dictis branchialibus''. Berlin, 1836 – On the so-called branchial arches of embryos. * "Ueber die Visceralbogen der Wirbelthiere im Allgemeinen und deren Metamorphosen bei den Vögeln und Säugethieren". ''Archiv für Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medicin'': 120–222, 1837 – On the visceral arch of vertebrates in general and its metamorphosis in birds and mammals. * ''Das Entwicklungsleben im Wirbelthierreiche''. 1840, Berlin – Development of life in vertebrates. * ''Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Zustandes der heutigen Entwicklungsgeschichte''. 1843, Berlin – Contributions to the knowledge on the state of present-day developmental history. * ''Der Bau des menschlichen Gehirns''. 1859–1861,

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 ...

– Construction of the

human brain The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of ...

References

External links

OCLC WorldCat
(published works) 1811 births 1883 deaths People from Kętrzyn German anatomists 19th-century German biologists German histologists German embryologists People from East Prussia University of Königsberg alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of the University of Breslau {{Germany-biologist-stub

Biography

Written works

See also

References

External links