Vertebrate Embryology

The real Hans Spemann, German embryologist (1869-1941), developed a concept of embryonic induction through his experiments on early amphibian embryos which demonstrated neural induction by the primary organizer and evocation of the lens by the optic vesicle. For his discovery of the "organizer" he was awarded the Nobel Peace in Physiology and Medicine in 1935, while he was Professor of Zoology at Freiburg, Germany. In the twenties and early thirties Spemann's laboratory was a mecca for students and investigators entering the new field of experimental embryology.