History
- Ancient Sanskrit and Egyptian Hieroglyphics - showed evidence of knowledge of embryos.
- 384-322 B.C. - Aristotle was the first person to observe the development of chick embryos.
- The Dark Ages - during this period of time, advancement in all fields of science came to a grinding halt. It wasn't until the Renaissance period reignited scientific discourse and allowed embryology to progress.
- 1514-1576 - Volcher Coiter is known as the father of embryology. He published a detailed study of chick embryology.
- 1578-1657 - William Harvey corrected and expanded on Aristotle's work.
- 1632-1723 - Antoni von Leeuwenhoek argued that a tiny preformed human was already present inside the semen and the ovum (egg) was not required. The problem with this idea was that the preformed human contained other preformed humans for future reproduction, and each of them would have more preformed humans, and this would be repeated for infinity. Thus, his theory was logically flawed.
- 1729-1799 - Lazzaro Spallanzani disproved Leeuwenhoek's theory using observable evidence; he proved that both the semen and the ovum where required for reproduction by performing the first in vitro fertilization using frog eggs and sperm.
- 1792-1876 - Carl Ernst von Baer was the first person to see the many similarities between the embryos of mammals.
- 1809-1882 - Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" on 1859 where he presented his theory of evolution. He cited embryology as important evidence for his theory.
- 1834-1919 - Ernst Haeckel is believed to have fabricated illustrations depicting the similarities between certain species and their embryos. His credibility is questionable, but this does not detract from the strength of embryology as a supporting fact of evolution. Modern technology has been able to accurately capture the embryological development of many species and the evidence supports the idea of common ancestry.
- Modern Embryology - continues to explore the similarities between species and seeks to better understand the growth of an embryo for the benefit of humanity.
References
- Professor Bill Wall, Georgia College & State University. History of Embryology Lecture Notes
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia
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Antonio Chavez •
antonio_chavez3@my.vcccd.edu •
Moorpark College •
7075 Campus Road, •
Moorpark, CA 93021 •