Albert Auguste Toussaint Brachet (1 January 1869 – 27 December 1930) was a Belgian physician and professor of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...

at the Free University of Brussels (, in its incarnation that operated 1834–1969). Brachet was a founder of the field of "causal embryology", the study of embryology and development using experiments. Brachet was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

of French ancestry. He studied medicine in Liège where he took an interest in embryology under

Edouard van Beneden Édouard Joseph Louis Marie Van Beneden (5 March 1846 in Leuven – 28 April 1910 in Liège) was a Belgian embryologist, cytologist and marine biologist. He was professor of zoology at the University of Liège. He contributed to cytogenetics ...

. He worked for a while as histology preparator for Auguste Swaen. He received his Doctor of Medicine in 1894 followed, by additional studies at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

under Sir William Turner and then in Germany under

Ernst Gaupp Ernst Wilhelm Theodor Gaupp (13 July 1865 – 23 November 1916) was a German anatomist from Beuthen in Upper Silesia (today Bytom, Poland). He studied natural sciences and medicine in Jena, Königsberg and Breslau, where he received his doctora ...

and Gustav Jacob Born. He returned to Liège and became an assistant in anatomy in 1895. He studied cranial development in the amphibians and reptiles. Brachet moved from the descriptive embryology of his period to experimental approaches which involved experiments such as the removal of specific cells in the embryo to observe the alteration in development. He gave the approach the name of "causal embryology." In 1904, he became Chair of Anatomy and Embryology at Bruxelles where he worked until his death. Brachet served as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Free University of Brussels from 1923 to 1926. His students included Pol Gerard, Maurice Herlant and . His son

Jean Brachet Jean Louis Auguste Brachet (19 March 1909 – 10 August 1988) was a Belgian biochemist who made a key contribution in understanding the role of RNA. Life Brachet was born in Etterbeek near Brussels in Belgium, the son of Albert Brachet, a ...

became a

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

and

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brachet, Albert 1869 births 1930 deaths Embryologists Physicians from Liège Scientists from Liège Academic staff of the Free University of Brussels (1834–1969)