Embryology History - Charles Bardeen

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Charles Bardeen
Charles Russell Bardeen (1871 – 1935)

Charles Russell Bardeen, M.D. (1871 – 1935) an American anatomist and embryologist. He was also the first Dean of medicine at the University of Wisconsin.


Links: Charles Bardeen | Historic Papers | University of Wisconsin - Medicine | Category:USA


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1936 In Memorandum

by Walter E. Sullivan

  • Address presented at the Fifty-second Session of the American Association of Anatomists, convened at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, April 9 to 11, 1936.

Charles Russell Bardeen 1871-1935

CR. Bardeen

One can best characterize Charles Russell Bardeen by saying that he was human. The morning following his death, our janitor said to me, “We have lost a good pal. ” I suppose that expressed the general feeling of those who knew him. Eminent as he was as scientist, educator, and administrator, it is as a personality he will be remembered at Wisconsin.


In his life he was simple, tolerant and courageous. His relaxations came through walks or picnics with his family, a game of golf with some old cronies, conversation or dinner with a group of friends.


His broad tolerance was shown in his whole life. Endowed with a brilliant mind, he was sympathetic with those less gifted. Recognizing no particular creed he antagonized none. In war days he kept a level head and refused to condemn fancied enemies at home and abroad. Having chosen a man to direct a department he never interfered, though he might entirely disagree with that man’s method of administration. This belief in the individual was an influence felt beyond his own school. As a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association, when others Were urging further aandardization, believing apparently that standardization is progress, he continued to urge freedom of ourriculum and methods for the individual school, for the individual teacher, and for the individual student.


He was always interested in new things as hopeful of progress. Graduated from Harvard University in 1893, he enrolled in the first class at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, primarily because it was a new school with a curriculum not yet organized. He encouraged one of his sons to enter a particular graduate institution for the same reason. He recognized that in a new school would be found life and enthusiasm not present in the older institutions where organization and routine had become established. Possibly too he entered the field of embryology because it was yet in its infancy in America; more likely, however, in this, ‘Doctor Mall was the deter mining factor. He was a pioneer in the use of X-rays in their experimental and clinical applications. His work with the efiects of x-rays on the developing egg stands with that of Hertwig, and his method of determination of heart size is a standard clinical procedure.


It has often been said that the beginning of science is observation, the advance of science the making of formulae and laws for correlation. Doctor Bardeen contributed to the advance by his formulae for heart size, growth and build and his simple mechanical analysis of muscles.


That his scientific interests were wide is indicated by these publications selected from a long list: Visceral changes in extensive superficial burns, A statistical study of the abdominal and border nerves in man, Development and variation of the nerves and musculature of the inferior extremity, Essential factors in the regeneration of Planaria maculata, Variations in susceptibility of amphibian ova to X-rays, The critical period in the development of the intestines, The relation of ossification to physiological development, Anatomy in America, Causal factors in the production of monsters, Determination of the size of the heart by meansof x-ray, Studies in the development of the human skeleton, General relations of sitting height to stature and of sitting height and stature to weight.


It is interesting that of all his studies Doctor Bardeen most frequently mentioned those on Planaria.


In choosing a career as a teacher Doctor Bardeen followed the course of his father, Charles William Bardeen, a national figure in American education and a major influence in the life of his son. The latter, after graduating from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1897 as a member of its first class, stayed on for 7 years in the Department of Anatomy. The University of Wisconsin, which was gradually building a medical curriculum, offered him the chair of Anatomy. In his decision to accept the call Doctor Bardeen was profoundly influenced by the political and social program of the state. At that time Wisconsin was regarded by the rest of the nation as a hot bed of socialism. Doctor Bardeen, however, sensed in it all an effort for the betterment of its citizens and accepted the position because as he himself expressed it, he saw an opportunity for service to the whole people of a commonwealth.


In 1907 he was chosen dean of a group of departments, the nucleus of a medical school. With much patience and wisdom he nurtured a 2-year school. Through his reputation as a scientist and as a man he established relations with the older schools that insured Wisconsin students an opportunity to continue their studies under favorable conditions. In the years that followed he was urged to complete the course by offering the third and fourth years at Milwaukee, an ideal center of clinical medicine, but 80 miles from the university. Convinced that a university setting with all that implies was essential to his plans, he Waited patiently but actively until the opportunity came to complete the medical school as an integral part of the university. In 1925 the Wisconsin General Hospital was built at Madison and medical service for the entire state as well as a complete medical school became possible. On the campus today, surrounded by the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and the College of Agriculture, stands the Medical School, a tribute to the wisdom, patience, and labor of Charles Russell Bardeen.


Walter E. Sullivan,

Madison, Wisconsin.


  • Note - Walter J. Meek also published an obituary in Science (Charles R. Bardeen--1871-1935 Science, New Series, Vol. 82, No. 2139 (Dec. 27, 1935), pp. 606-607.

References

Historic Papers

Bardeen CR. and Lewis WH. The development of the limbs, body-wall and back. (1901) Amer. J Anat. 1: 1-36.

Bardeen CR. The growth and histogenesis of the cerebro-spinal nerves in mammals. (1903) Amer. J Anat. 2: 231-258.

Bardeen CR. Numerical vertebral variation in the human adult and embryo. (1904) Anat. Anz. 25:497-519.

Bardeen CR. Studies of the development of the human skeleton. (1905) Amer. J Anat. 4:265-302.

Bardeen CR. Development of the thoracic vertebrae in man. (1905) Amer. J Anat. 4: 163-174.

Bardeen CR. Development and variation of the nerves and the musculature of the inferior extremity and of the neighboring regions of the trunk in man. (1906) Amer. J Anat. 6:259–390.

Bardeen CR. Vertebral regional determination in young human embryos. (1908) Amer. J Anat. 2: 99 - 105.

Bardeen CR. Early development of the cervical vertebrae and the base of the occipital bone in man. (1908) Amer. J Anat. 2: 182-186.

Bardeen CR. XI. Development of the Skeleton and of the Connective Tissues in Keibel F. and Mall FP. Manual of Human Embryology I. (1910) J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.

Bardeen CR. The critical period in the development of the intestines. (1914) Amer. J Anat. 16: 427 – 445.


Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 19) Embryology Embryology History - Charles Bardeen. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Embryology_History_-_Charles_Bardeen

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