Roux, Wilhelm (1850–1924)

German anatomist and zoologist who carried out research into developmental mechanics in embryology. He also investigated the mechanisms of functional adaptations, examining the physical stresses that cause bones, cartilage, and tendons to adapt to malformations and diseases.

Roux was born in Jena and studied there and at Berlin and Strasbourg. At Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland) from 1879, he eventually became director of his own Institute of Embryology.

He was professor at Innsbruck, Austria, 1889–95, when he became director of the Anatomical Institute at Halle.

Roux's embryological investigations were performed mainly on frogs' eggs. Puncturing the eggs at the two-cell stage of development (a technique Roux pioneered), he found that they grew into half-embryos: the fate of the parts had already been determined. He also researched into the earliest structures in amphibian development.