Fig. 45.—Lorenzo Oken, 1779-1851.
R. Owen.—In England Richard Owen (1804-1892) carried on the influence of Cuvier. At the age of twenty-seven he went to Paris and renewed acquaintance with the great Cuvier, whom he had met the previous year in England. He spent some time at the Jardin des Plantes examining the extensive collections in the museum. Although the idea was repudiated by Owen and some of his friends, it is not unlikely that the collections of fossil animals and the researches upon them which engaged Cuvier at that time had great influence upon the subsequent studies of Owen. Although he never studied under Cuvier, in a sense he may be regarded as his disciple. Owen introduced into anatomy the important conceptions of analogy and homology, the former being a likeness based upon the use to which organs are put, as the wing of a butterfly and the wing of a bat; while homology is a true relationship founded on likeness in structure and development, as the wing of a bat and the foreleg of a dog. Analogy is a superficial, and often a deceiving relationship; homology is a true genetic relationship. It is obvious that this distinction is of great importance in comparing the different parts of animals. He made a large number of independent discoveries, and published a monumental work on the comparative anatomy of vertebrates (1866-68). In much of his thought he was singular, and many of his general conclusions have not stood the test of time. He undertook to establish the idea of an archtype in vertebrate anatomy. He clung to the vertebral theory of the skull long after Huxley had shown such a theory to be untenable. The idea that the skull is made up of modified vertebrae was propounded by Goethe and Oken. In the hands of Oken it became one of the anatomical conclusions of the school of Naturphilosophie. This school of transcendental philosophy was founded by Schelling, and Oken (Fig. 45) was one of its typical representatives. The vertebral theory of the skull was, therefore, not original with Owen, but he adopted it, greatly elaborated it, and clung to it blindly long after the foundations upon which it rested were removed.
Fig. 46.—Richard Owen, 1804-1892.
Richard Owen (Fig. 46) was succeeded by Huxley (1825-1895), whose exactness of observation and rare judgment as to the main facts of comparative anatomy mark him as one of the leaders in this field of research. The influence of Huxley as a popular exponent of science is dealt with in a later chapter.
Meckel.—Just as Cuvier stands at the beginning of the school of comparative anatomy in France, so does J. Fr. Meckel in Germany. Meckel (1781-1833) was a man of rare talent, descended from a family of distinguished anatomists. From 1804 to 1806 he studied in Paris under Cuvier, and when he came to leave the French capital to become professor of anatomy at Halle, he carried into Germany the teachings and methods of his master. He was a strong force in the university, attracting students to his department by his excellent lectures and his ability to arouse enthusiasm. Some of these students were stimulated to undertake researches in anatomy, and there came from his laboratory a number of investigations that were published in a periodical which he founded. Meckel himself produced many scientific papers and works on comparative anatomy, which assisted materially in the advancement of that science. His portrait, which is rare, is shown in Fig. 47.
