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A Conceptual History of Modern Embryology pp 91–108Cite as

Spemann Seen through a Lens

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Part of the book series: Developmental Biology ((DEBO,volume 7))

Abstract

In 1924 the results of perhaps the most publicized and seminal experiment in embryology were published, those of the “organizer” grafts performed by Hans Spemann and his graduate student Hilde Mangold (1). Not only did these investigations result in a Nobel Prize for Spemann, but more important, they fostered a heightened interest in the phenomenon of embryonic induction and led to establishment of a prolific school of research into the nature of the organizer (2). Despite its notoriety, the organizer experiment was not the first instance of induction to be experimentally demonstrated, nor did it come to serve as the classic textbook paradigm for general embryonic induction. In both respects this position is reserved for induction of the lens.

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Notes and References

  1. Spemann, H., and Mangold, H., 1924, Uber Induktion on Embryonalanlagen durch Implantation artfremder Organisatoren. Arch. mikr. Anat. Entwicklungsmech. 100: 599–638.

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  2. For a thorough discussion of the “Spemann school,” see Hamburger, V., 1988, The Heritage of Experimental Embryology, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 90 ff.

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  5. See Campbell, N., 1987, Biology, Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, NJ, p. 941.

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  6. For biographical information on Spemann, see his autobiography, Forschung und Leben (Engelhorns, Stuttgart, 1943), as well as Otto Mangold’s biography, Hans Spemann, Ein Meister der Entwicklungsphysiologie, Sein Leben und Werk, (Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, 1982). Also Horder, T., and Weindling, P., 1985, Hans Spemann and the organiser, in: A History of Embryology, Cambridge University Press, ( Cambridge ) pp. 183–242.

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  9. For a chronicle of his Munich years, see Spemann, 1943, pp. 139–168; Mangold, 1982, pp. 18–19.

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  11. A discussion of Herbst’s work is presented in Chapter 4 of his volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22901, USA

    Margaret Saha

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  1. Margaret Saha
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 19081, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA

    Scott F. Gilbert

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© 1991 Plenum Press, New York

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Saha, M. (1991). Spemann Seen through a Lens. In: Gilbert, S.F. (eds) A Conceptual History of Modern Embryology. Developmental Biology, vol 7. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6823-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6823-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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