Rank and sequence in Caspar Bauhin's Pinax

CAIN, A. J., 1994. Rank and sequence in Caspar Bauhin's Pinax. Bauhin's consistent use of genera, species and binominals, applauded by historians as anticipating Linnaeus's theory and practice, does not appear on closer examination to be intended as anything of the sort. His use of the terms genus and species is as in Aristotelian logic, with a shifting reference, at all taxonomic levels. His typographical layout, emphasizing (but far from invariably employing) single-word names for effectively generic entities, often qualified by ‘and its species’, gives the impression of Linnaean practice, and coincides with it not infrequently, but not with Linnaean theory. The main entities for which it can be said that Bauhin uses fairly consistently a biverbal binominal name-phrase, like Linnaeus' trivial names, were in fact in Linnaeus's eyes two levels of supraspecific groupings. The main entities in Bauhin which Linnaeus recognized as species, as is shown by his quotations in the Species plantarum, are subdivisions of his biverbally or nearly biverbally named groupings, but themselves have multiverbal names. These correspond closely to Linnaeus's diagnostic specific names, not at all to his biverbal trivial names. Bauhin probably had no conception of the species and genus as ranks in the modern sense, first adumbrated by Tournefort and utilized by Linnaeus. Bauhin certainly tried to group forms by natural affinity, as did Theophrastus before him and Linnaeus afterwards. Not being alerted to the importance of the details of the flower and fruit, he used what characters he could find, notably, but not by any means exclusively, leaf shape. He composed the Pinax as a nomenclatural concordance to earlier authors, notably Dioscorides, Theophrastus and Pliny. He retained the sequence of major groups of Theophrastus (as the greatest authority on plants) but reversed it to start with the best-known plants, grasses. Where Theophrastus gave no help, in the cryptogams, Bauhin inserted as a pendant his own series from ferns down to fungi, using the Aristotelian principles of the gradation of forms. His overall arrangement, therefore, is not a simple progression but a chain with pendants. Bauhin is far closer to earlier authors than to Linnaeus, but his typography, along with other authors, may well have helped to incite Linnaeus to a more rigorous and consistent use of ranked groups and biverbal names.     

Vincenzo Malacarne (1744-1816): a researcher in neurophysiology between anatomophysiology and electrical physiology of the human brain

Since his first years at Turin until the last years of his life at Padua, Vincenzo Malacarne devoted most of his time to the examination of the structures and the various parts of which the cerebellum and the human brain are composed. He is rightly considered as one of the first to have correctly described the anatomy of the cerebellum, as well in the field of human anatomy and comparative anatomy. However, his work cannot be reduced to these studies. He worked out a cerebral physiology, with organic and intellectual phenomena in mind, established on an anatomopsychic parallelism. This parallelism is itself founded on a rational and mathematical criterion: the number of lamellae contained in the cerebellum. A letter written by him in 1792 and addressed to Abbot Denina was recently found by the present author in November 2005 at the Academy of Sciences of Turin. Malacarne exposed his project of studying the animal electricity put forward by Galvani within the cerebral organ. May it be that Malacarne had in mind the physiology of his time while trying to record an electric activity within the brain?     

Léonard de Vinci (1452–1519): andrologue avant la lettre

Leonardo da Vinci devoted 41 years of his lifetime to anatomy and anatomical drawing and opened new horizons in these two disciplines. He is therefore justly considered to be the father of modern anatomy. Considering the great number of his anatomical drawings dealing with the male urogenital tract and its function, Leonardo da Vinci can also be considered to be the father of andrology.     

Niels Stensen (1638-1686)

The paper reminds of the great Danish anatomist, geologist, and bishop Niels Stensen (1638-1686) whose 300th anniversary of his death was in 1986. In anatomy his name is linked especially with the parotideous duct (Ductus Stenonianus) which was discovered by him in 1660.     

Johann Friedrich Meckel, Jr. as founder of scientific teratology

n the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death, the scientific work of the famous German anatomist Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781 to 1833) in Halle is appreciated. The Younger Meckel is counted to the most outstanding figures in the history of anatomy and medicine in the first third of 19th century. According to his founded knowledges in the normal, comparative, and pathologic anatomy and embryology he was able to give a scientific argument of malformations first of all in the history of medicine and biology. The edition of Meckel's Handbook of Pathologic Anatomy (in German language; 1st vol. 1812) is the birth of scientific teratology. Through his contributions to teratology Meckel directly participated in the raising of general pathology and pathologic anatomy to scientific disciplines. Meckel's interceding for C. F. Wolff's theory of epigenesis, not at last by translation of Wolff's paper "De formatione intestinorum" (1768 to 1769) into the German language, accelerated the development of the general and special embryology during the 19th century. In the contemporary medicine the succeeding eponyms are reminding of the imposing German physician and anatomist: the Meckel's diverticulum of ileum (1809), the Meckel's cartilage of the mandibular arch (1820) and the so-called Meckel syndrome (1822).     

Ontogeny, anatomy, and the problem of homology: Carl Gegenbaur and the American tradition of cell lineage studies

Summary In this paper we analyze Carl Gegenbaur’s conception of the relationship between embryology (“Ontogenie”) and comparative anatomy and his related ideas about homology. We argue that Gegenbaur’s conviction of the primacy of comparative anatomy and his careful consideration of caenogenesis led him to a more balanced view about the relationship between ontogeny and phylogeny than his good friend Ernst Haeckel. We also argue that Gegenbaur’s ideas about the centrality of comparative anatomy and his definitions of homology actually laid the conceptual foundations for Hans Spemann’s (1915) later analysis of homology. We also analyze Gegenbaur’s reception in the United States and how the discussions between E.B. Wilson and Edwin Conklin about the role of the “embryological criterion of homology” and the latter’s argument for an even earlier concept of cellular homology reflect the recurring theme of preformism in ontogeny, a theme that finds its modern equivalent in various genetic definitions of homology, only recently challenged by the emerging synthesis of evolutionary developmental biology. Finally, we conclude that Gegenbaur’s own careful methodological principles can serve as an important model for proponents of present day “evo-devo”, especially with respect to the integration of ontogeny with phylogeny embedded in comparative anatomy.     

L’anatomie andrologique dans les écrits de Jules Germain Cloquet (1790–1883), grand chirurgien et anatomiste

Cloquet was a great anatomist and surgeon. A large proportion of his writings, covering different fields of medicine, such as normal anatomy and physiology, pathology, natural history, and surgery, concerns andrological anatomy illustrating the astonishingly high level of Cloquet’s knowledge in the field of andrology.     

240th anniversary of the birth of Georges Cuvier (1769–1832)

August 2009 marked the 240th anniversary of the birth of Georges Cuvier, an architect of comparative anatomy, a founder of paleontology, and the originator of catastrophism. An account of the biography and summary of research of this outstanding French natural historian is provided. A contemporary of Cuvier, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1800 regarded the diverse talents of his compatriot so highly that he made him a trusted member of his inner circle, inviting his help in both private matters and state affairs.     

The comparative leaf anatomy of Agave, Beschorneria, Doryanthes and Furcraea species (Agavaceae: Agaveae)

The leaf anatomy is compared of 35 ppecies and one variety of Agave , three species of Furcraea , one species of Beschorneria and one species of Doryanrhes , four genera assigned to the tribe Agaveae by Hutchinson in his classification of the family Agavaceae. The genera can be readily differentiated by leaf anatomy. There are close similarities between Agave, Beschorneria and Furcraea , but Doryanthes differs widely from these genera. Sufficient anatomical differences exist to differentiate the Agave species examined.     

Vertebrate palaeohistology then and now: A retrospective in the light of the contributions of Armand de Ricqlès

In addition to his many contributions to the basic anatomy and nomenclature of the osteohistology of extant vertebrates, Armand de Ricqlès has been more instrumental than any other researcher of the past half century in elucidating the structure and anatomy of the bone tissues of extinct vertebrates and in guiding the field in interpreting their meaning and application to a variety of important paleobiological problems. As a result of his pioneering work, which began with his doctoral thesis and has continued through five decades of collaborative research, we are now able to answer definitively many questions about the growth, physiology, function, and paleoecology of extinct tetrapods. In some cases we can even clarify their taxonomic status in ways unavailable through gross anatomical studies. This would have been unimaginable several decades ago, and it demonstrates how, thanks largely to the work and influence of Armand de Ricqlès, palaeohistology has been thoroughly integrated into palaeobiology.     

Goethe's own testimony about his involvement with "organic Nature." III. Letters (1818-1832)]

This third and last extract from GOETHE's letters between 1818 and 1832 follows the Sophien-Ausgabe of Weimar with the exception of the last two remarks which were drawn from other sources. In 1818, GOETHE riched the 69th year of his life. In this late life-time, he corresponded with scientists, literati, musicians, his son, and his grand-duke CARL AUGUST. The subjects of his correspondence are problems of the scientific investigations' organization as well as of true science, predominantly of paleontology and general morphology including the comparative anatomy.     

Mr. Job van Meekeren (1611-1666) and surgery of the hand

Job van Meekeren of Amsterdam was a surgeon, respected by outstanding contemporary medical doctors for his knowledge of medical literature and his skills, who made a definite link between anatomy and surgery. He showed a great interest in hand surgery, and interesting is a demonstration of flexor tendon repairs on corpses by one of his pupils. It is still a great joy to read his book today, which also gives a good representation of the state of the art of surgery in the seventeenth century in Amsterdam (Fig. 11). Names and addresses of patients are fully mentioned, so even today we know exactly where they lived and where the events took place. On the other hand, we also know quite well what the surgeons and doctors looked like through the efforts of many excellent painters who depicted anatomy lessons. In Amsterdam, barber-surgeons' guilds were very eager to sit for group paintings, centered around the teaching medical doctor (Table I). The painter Aert Pietersz in 1603 painted Dr. Sebastiaan Egberts surrounded by 29 surgeons, and in 1619, Dr. Egberts was painted once more, this time with five learning surgeons, by Thomas de Keyzer. Nicolaes Eliasz, named Pickenoy, painted Dr. Johan Fonteyn in 1625, and Rembrandt is well known for the Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (1632) and Dr. Deyman (1656). It is peculiar that a portrait of van Meekeren could not be traced.     

The anatomy of mole locomotion

The main features of the limb anatomy of the mole (Talpa europaea L.) are described and illustrated, following, but simplifying, Reed's (1951) account. The importance of the axial rotation of the humerus, shown in his account, is emphasized and also illustrated. Additional details of the structure and mode of action of the wrist are given.     

Bolkian and Bokian Retardation in Homo Sapiens

Although a low genetic barrier is said to separate humans from apes, Homo sapiens is characterized by striking developmental and anatomical particularities. On the one hand, humans have a very extended life history (retardation). On the other hand, human anatomy shows many instances of both neoteny and hypermorphosis.In 1918, Bolk proposed his 'retardation theory' that links both aspects of the human condition. We show in this paper that his theory becomes surprisingly powerful when Bolk's retardation principle is applied to generalized developmental gradients (such as the cephalocaudal gradient that dominates overall ontogeny). In this way, the main particularities of the human body (extended life history; long limbs, and very long legs; very low brachial and crural indices; highly developed pollex and hallux; reduced prognathism; advanced telencephalization etc.) can be reduced to a single developmental matrix.In 1926, Bok noted that, in a series of equivalent organs (such as the finger row), the ontogenetic latecomer tends to be more neotenic than a corresponding forerunner. We show that Bok's observation is a logical corollary of Bolk's retardation theory and that it is important for understanding some pecularities of human anatomy such as the pronounced differentiation between hands and feet.     

Léon Athanase Gosselin (1815–1887) et ses recherches sur les maladies du testicule

Leon Athanase Gosselin was one of the greatest French surgeons of the 19th century. He successfully directed many university surgical departments and excelled in orthopaedics, anatomy, physiology and urology. Thanks to his advanced research into testicular, scrotal and spermatic cord diseases and their effects on fertilisation and virility, Gosselin is rightly considered to have been a great andrologist before this branch of medical science had been recognised.     

Professor A. J. E. Cave 1900–2001

Few have served the Zoological Society of London longer or more faithfully than Alexander Cave who died on 17 May at the great age of 100.
As a Fellow, his record is outstanding: Member of Council, Vice President, Silver Medallist of the Society, Honorary Research Associate; and withal, an unending stream of original papers on various aspects of comparative anatomy. Unending? Well, almost, for he was still being published in his 95th year. Nor should be forgotten the great volume of work that he did in refereeing papers for the Journal of Zoology – an onerous and time-consuming task that he dealt with meticulously.