GEGENBAUR, KARL. - Born in Würzburg on 21 August 1826 and died in Heidelberg on 14 June 1903. A pupil of Kölliker and of Virchow, he took his degree in 1851. He studied the fauna of the Mediterranean in Sicily for three years and in 1855 obtained the chair of anatomy and physiology at Jena.

He had a very flourishing school. He gathered together all the problems and considerations that had emerged from the study of phylogeny and enriched comparative anatomy with them. He carried out fundamental studies on the comparative anatomy of vertebrates; the theory of the archipterygium is his (the search for the archetypal form of the vertebrate limb); he studied the skull of selachians and refuted the theory of Goethe and others, demonstrating the clear morphogenetic distinction between the precordial and the chordal region of the vertebrate skull. His most important works are: Untersuchungen zur vergleichenden Anatomie der Wirbeltiere (Leipzig 1864), Das Kopfbelet der Selachier (ibid. 1873), Vergleichende Anatomie der Wirbeltiere (ibid. 1901).

Bibliography

BIBL.: M. Furbringer, K. G., Heidelberg 1903.

Giorgio M. Baffoni

@incollection{ec5_gegenbaur_karl, author = {Baffoni, Giorgio Maria}, title = {Gegenbaur, karl}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {1977}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/gegenbaur-karl} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Gegenbaur, Karl

About this entry