Étienne Serres
Encyclopedia
Antoine Étienne Renaud Augustin Serres (1786-1868) was a French physician and embryologist.
In 1810 Serres received his medical doctorate in Paris, and afterwards worked at the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
and the Hôpital de la Pitié. Beginning in 1839 he taught comparative anatomy
at the Jardin des Plantes
. In 1841 he became president of the French Academy of Sciences
. Serres' scientific work was influenced by the theories of Lorenz Oken
(1779-1851), Georges Cuvier
(1769-1832), and especially Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
(1772-1844).
With German anatomist, Johann Friedrich Meckel
(1781-1833), the "Meckel-Serres Law" is derived. This was a theory that attempted to provide a link between comparative embryology
and a "pattern of unification" in the organic world. It was based on a belief that within the entire animal kingdom there was a single unified body-type, and that during development, the organs of higher animals matched the forms of comparable organs in lower animals. This theory applied to both vertebrate
s and invertebrate
s, and also stated that higher animals go through embryological stages analogous to the adult stages of lower life-forms in the course of their development, a version of the recapitulation theory
later ossified in the statement "Ontogeny
recapitulates phylogeny" of Ernst Haeckel
.
In the field of teratology
, Serres explained the presence of malformations as cases of arrested development or overdevelopment. He had disagreements with Charles Darwin
regarding the latter's evolutionary theories. Serres believed that humans were creatures set apart and a supreme goal of all creation.
In 1810 Serres received his medical doctorate in Paris, and afterwards worked at the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
The Hôtel-Dieu de Paris is regarded as the oldest hospital in the city of Paris, France, and is the most central of the Assistance publique - hôpitaux de Paris hospitals. The hospital is linked to the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes...
and the Hôpital de la Pitié. Beginning in 1839 he taught comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...
at the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
. In 1841 he became president of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
. Serres' scientific work was influenced by the theories of Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken was a German naturalist.Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss in Bohlsbach in Baden and studied natural history and medicine at the universities of Freiburg and Würzburg. He went on to the University of Göttingen, where he became a Privatdozent , and shortened his name to Oken...
(1779-1851), Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
(1769-1832), and especially Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories...
(1772-1844).
With German anatomist, Johann Friedrich Meckel
Johann Friedrich Meckel
Johann Friedrich Meckel , often referred to as Johann Friedrich Meckel, the Younger, was a German anatomist born in Halle...
(1781-1833), the "Meckel-Serres Law" is derived. This was a theory that attempted to provide a link between comparative embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
and a "pattern of unification" in the organic world. It was based on a belief that within the entire animal kingdom there was a single unified body-type, and that during development, the organs of higher animals matched the forms of comparable organs in lower animals. This theory applied to both vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s and invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, and also stated that higher animals go through embryological stages analogous to the adult stages of lower life-forms in the course of their development, a version of the recapitulation theory
Recapitulation theory
The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or embryological parallelism—and often expressed as "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"—is a disproven hypothesis that in developing from embryo to adult, animals go through stages resembling or representing successive stages...
later ossified in the statement "Ontogeny
Ontogeny
Ontogeny is the origin and the development of an organism – for example: from the fertilized egg to mature form. It covers in essence, the study of an organism's lifespan...
recapitulates phylogeny" of 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:...
.
In the field of teratology
Teratology
Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. It is often thought of as the study of human birth defects, but it is much broader than that, taking in other non-birth developmental stages, including puberty; and other non-human life forms, including plants.- Etymology :The...
, Serres explained the presence of malformations as cases of arrested development or overdevelopment. He had disagreements with Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
regarding the latter's evolutionary theories. Serres believed that humans were creatures set apart and a supreme goal of all creation.
- Associated eponyms:
- Serres' angle: Also known as the metafacial angle, an angle between the base of the skullHuman skullThe human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
and the pterygoid process - Serres' glands: Also called Epstein's pearlsEpstein's pearlsEpstein's pearls are small white or yellow cystic vesicles often seen in the median palatal raphe of the mouth of newborn infants . They are typically seen on the roof of the mouth and are filled with fluid...
, epithelialEpitheliumEpithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...
cell rests found in the subepithelial connective tissue in the palatePalateThe palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...
of the newborn.