Wilhelm Roux
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Roux was a German
zoologist
and pioneer of experimental embryology
.
Roux was born and educated in Jena
, Germany
where he attended university and studied under Ernst Haeckel
. He also attended university in Berlin and Strasbourg and studied under Gustav Schwalbe
, Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen
, and Rudolf Virchow
. Although he was trained as a clinical doctor, he spent his career in experimental biology. His doctoral thesis on the embryological development of blood vessels was a seminal early study in biophysical modelling, a milestone in the study of the cardio-vascular system.
For ten years he worked in Breslau (now Wroclaw
), becoming director of his own Institute of Embryology in 1879. He was professor at Innsbruck, Austria from 1889-95, then accepted a professorial chair at the Anatomical Institute of the University of Halle, a post he retained until 1921.
Roux's research was based upon the notion of Entwicklungsmechanik or developmental mechanics: he investigated the mechanisms of functional adaptations of bones, cartilage, and tendons to malformation and disease. His methodology was to interfere with developing embryo
s and observe the outcome. Roux's investigations were performed mainly on frogs' eggs to research the earliest structures in amphibian development. His goal was to show Darwinian processes at work on the cellular level.
In 1885 Roux removed a portion of the medullary plate of an embryo
nic chicken
and maintained it in a warm saline solution for several days, establishing the principle of tissue culture
which would later be taken up by Ross Granville Harrison
and Paul Alfred Weiss
.
In 1888, Roux published the results of a series of defect experiments in which he took 2 and 4 cell frog embryos and killed half of the cells of each embryo with a hot needle. He reported that they grew into half-embryos and surmised that the separate function of the two cells had already been determined. This led him to propose his "Mosaic
" theory of epigenesis
: after a few cell divisions the embryo would be like a mosaic, each cell playing its own unique part in the entire design.
After a few years Roux's theory was refuted by the studies of his colleague Hans Driesch and later, with more precision, Hans Spemann
showed that, as a rule, Driesch's conclusions were correct, but that results like Roux's may be obtained after intervention in certain planes. Despite this early lapse into a fallacy of reductionism
, Roux's pioneering mechanical methodology was to prove most fruitful in 20th century biology.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and pioneer of experimental embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
.
Roux was born and educated in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he attended university and studied under Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel
The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...
. He also attended university in Berlin and Strasbourg and studied under Gustav Schwalbe
Gustav Schwalbe
Gustav Albert Schwalbe, M.D. was a German anatomist and anthropologist from Quedlinburg.He was educated at the universities of Berlin, Zurich, and Bonn Gustav Albert Schwalbe, M.D. (August 1, 1844 – April 23, 1916) was a German anatomist and anthropologist from Quedlinburg.He was educated at the...
, Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen
Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen
Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen was a German pathologist who practiced medicine in Würzburg and Strassburg . Born in Gütersloh, Westphalia, he was the father of physiologist Heinrich von Recklinghausen ....
, and Rudolf Virchow
Rudolf Virchow
Rudolph Carl Virchow was a German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist and politician, known for his advancement of public health...
. Although he was trained as a clinical doctor, he spent his career in experimental biology. His doctoral thesis on the embryological development of blood vessels was a seminal early study in biophysical modelling, a milestone in the study of the cardio-vascular system.
For ten years he worked in Breslau (now Wroclaw
Wroclaw
Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...
), becoming director of his own Institute of Embryology in 1879. He was professor at Innsbruck, Austria from 1889-95, then accepted a professorial chair at the Anatomical Institute of the University of Halle, a post he retained until 1921.
Roux's research was based upon the notion of Entwicklungsmechanik or developmental mechanics: he investigated the mechanisms of functional adaptations of bones, cartilage, and tendons to malformation and disease. His methodology was to interfere with developing embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s and observe the outcome. Roux's investigations were performed mainly on frogs' eggs to research the earliest structures in amphibian development. His goal was to show Darwinian processes at work on the cellular level.
In 1885 Roux removed a portion of the medullary plate of an embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
nic chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
and maintained it in a warm saline solution for several days, establishing the principle of tissue culture
Tissue culture
Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells separate from the organism. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-solid, or solid growth medium, such as broth or agar...
which would later be taken up by Ross Granville Harrison
Ross Granville Harrison
Ross Granville Harrison was an American biologist and anatomist credited as the first to work successfully with artificial tissue culture....
and Paul Alfred Weiss
Paul Alfred Weiss
Paul Alfred Weiss was an Austrian biologist who specialised in morphogenesis, development, differentiation and neurobiology...
.
In 1888, Roux published the results of a series of defect experiments in which he took 2 and 4 cell frog embryos and killed half of the cells of each embryo with a hot needle. He reported that they grew into half-embryos and surmised that the separate function of the two cells had already been determined. This led him to propose his "Mosaic
Mosaic (genetics)
In genetic medicine, a mosaic or mosaicism denotes the presence of two populations of cells with different genotypes in one individual who has developed from a single fertilized egg...
" theory of epigenesis
Epigenesis
Epigenesis may refer to:* Epigenesis , describes morphogenesis and development of an organism* By analogy, a philosophical and theological concept, part of the concept of spiritual evolution* The Epigenesis, a 2010 album by Melechesh...
: after a few cell divisions the embryo would be like a mosaic, each cell playing its own unique part in the entire design.
After a few years Roux's theory was refuted by the studies of his colleague Hans Driesch and later, with more precision, Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influence, exercised by various parts of the embryo, that directs the development of groups of cells into particular tissues...
showed that, as a rule, Driesch's conclusions were correct, but that results like Roux's may be obtained after intervention in certain planes. Despite this early lapse into a fallacy of reductionism
Reductionism
Reductionism can mean either an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things or a philosophical position that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can...
, Roux's pioneering mechanical methodology was to prove most fruitful in 20th century biology.
Works
- Der Kampf der Teile im Organismus (1881)
- Über die Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen (1890)
- Geschichtliche Abhandlung über Entwicklungsmechanik (two volumes, 1895)
- Die Entwicklungsmechanik (1905)
- Terminologie der Entwicklungsmechanik (1912).