72 THE MAIN CURRENTS OF ZOOLOGY 



It becomes apparent, that in the course of develop- 

 ment there is an embryological record impressed 

 upon the organism, embryological study reveals this 

 record and its interpretation is part of the task of the 

 anatomist. Embryology is of great importance in 

 zoology as giving clues to the relationship of animals 

 and affording data for the recognition of their line of 

 descent. 



Von Baer (Fig. 16), the founder of modern em- 

 bryology, was a man of superb mental endowment, 

 unusual in the way in which he combined accurate 

 observations with sane and fruitful generalizations. 

 His "reflections 71 on the general features of the 

 development of animals are still of value. His book 

 on The Development of Animals (Entwickelungs- 

 geschichte der Tiere-Beobachtung und Reflexion) is one 

 of the great biological classics. He had finished his 

 embryological investigations in 1828, at the age of 

 thirty-one, and lived thereafter for forty-eight years. 

 At the time of the publication of his treatise on 

 embryology he was a professor in the University of 

 Konigsberg, but soon retired to look after his estates 

 in Russia. He made no further contributions to 

 embryology but became known for investigations in 

 meteorology, anthropology, etc. An autobiography, 



