The Ontogenetic Basis of Human Anatomy: A Biodynamic Approach to Development from Conception to Birth

by Erich Blechschmidt

This book presents an anatomical overview of the changing form and structure of the human body. Although biomechanical embryology can be traced back to the 19th century, up until recently the most commonly accepted framework for the study of human ontogeny (development of the individual) was molecular biology, which all too frequently relied on findings from animal experiments that remained untested for humans. German embryologist and anatomist Erich Blechschmidt's research concentrates on the evidence presented by the human embryo itself. He offers a new approach to the study of early human growth as a way to shed light on the development of body build, instincts, gestures, language, mathematics, tools, and dress.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 12, 2004

Reviews

[Marya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly technical book but intriguing to me because it explores the notion that ontongeny preceeds philogeny, through the lens of embryology. By looking closely at stages of embryological growth, we can better understand our own origins, our cycles of embodiment and transformation, the patterns of fluid potency that still unfold within us. I hope that through a better understanding of the origins of manifestation and how the fluid body is involved in our manifestation, I'll have a better felt sense for detecting various fluid tides in people during bodywork sessions.