Gegenbaur, Karl

Gegenbaur, Karl (kärl gā'gunbour) [key], 1826–1903, German anatomist. A professor at the universities of Jena (1855–73) and Heidelberg (1873–1901), he was influential as a teacher. He emphasized the value of comparative anatomy in the study of evolution and of homologies. He showed (1861) that the ovum of every vertebrate is a single cell.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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