Meckel

Meckel the Younger (Johann Friedrich Meckel, 1781-1833), son and grandson of famous German anatomists, one of the greatest anatomists of his time, born in Halle, studied medicine in Halle, Würzburg, and Vienna. In 1802 he defended his dissertation "De cordis conditionibus abnormis" (Halle). Then M. traveled for 3 years for scientific purposes through Italy, France, England, and Holland, and in 1808 he received a professorship in anatomy and surgery in Halle. M. significantly expanded the museum (created by the work of his father and grandfather), which possesses the richest collections of specimens in comparative anatomy. For his outstanding work in this field of science, he was called the "German Cuvier." M. is the founder of zootomy and teratology in Germany. Of his numerous works, one can note: "Abhandlungen a. d. menschlichen u. vergleichenden Anatomie u. Physiologie" (Halle, 1806); "Beitrage z. vergleichenden Anatomie" (B. I-II, Lpz., 1808-12); "Anat.-physiol. Beoba-chtungen u. Untersuchungen" (Halle, 1822); "Des-criptio monstrorum nonullorum" (Lipsiae, 1826). He also wrote "Handbuch der patho-logischen Anatomie" (B. I-II, Lpz., 1812-18); "Handbuch der menschlichen Anatomie" (B. I-IV, Halle-Berlin, 1815-20) and finally "System der vergleichenden Anatomie" (B. I-VI, Halle, 1821-30); in this work M. asserts that the higher animal in its development passes stages characteristic of lower-ranking organisms.