Int. J. Dev. Biol. 43: 591 - 602 (1999)

Vol 43, Issue 7

Special Issue: The Hubrecht Laboratory

A treasure house of comparative embryology

Published: 1 October 1993

M K Richardson and J Narraway

Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom. m.richardson@sghms.ac.uk

Abstract

The Embryo Collection of the Hubrecht Laboratory is a treasure house of comparative embryology. It is the largest and most important collection of its kind in the world, and consists of thousands of vertebrate embryos stored in alcohol, or prepared as histological sections. Many elusive species are included in the collection, some represented by complete developmental series. The accompanying archives offer a remarkable insight into the methods used to collect embryos form wild animals, as well as the motives behind the founders of the collection. Carefully maintained, documented and catalogued, the collection is available for study by all interested scientists. We argue that this collection is one of the greatest biodiversity resources in existence.