Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, Irvine, California 92868-3298, USA.
Neurosurgery. 2009 Dec;65(6):1098-104; discussion 1104-5. doi: 10.1227/01.NEU.0000359535.84445.0B.
On the bicentennial of Darwin's birth, we describe the origin of the calcar avis and summarize the debate around this structure, which played a central role in the evolution debate in the mid-19th century. We performed a comprehensive review of relevant neuroanatomic literature, bibliographic sources, and 19th century primary sources. Once known as the hippocampus minor, the structure now known as the calcar avis is an involution of the ventricular wall produced by the calcarine fissure. A heated debate raged between 2 prominent scientific theorists, Sir Richard Owen and Thomas Henry Huxley, over the presence of the hippocampus minor in apes versus humans. Owen put forward the lack of an identifiable hippocampus minor in humans as part of an attempt to debunk evolution. A bitter personal and academic rivalry ensued, as Huxley conducted his own dissections to refute Owen's claims. Huxley ultimately dismantled Owen's premises, securing the epithet "Darwin's bulldog" for his defense of the theory of evolution. Thus, this relatively obscure neuroanatomic landmark served as a pivotal point of contention in the most popularized and acrimonious evolutionary debate of the 19th century.
在达尔文诞辰 200 周年之际，我们描述了航迹（calcar avis）的起源，并总结了围绕这一结构的争论。这一结构在 19 世纪中期的进化争论中起了核心作用。我们对相关神经解剖学文献、参考文献和 19 世纪原始资料进行了全面回顾。现在被称为航迹（calcar avis）的结构，曾经被称为小海马体（hippocampus minor），是由脑回裂产生的脑室壁内折。两位杰出的科学理论家理查德·欧文爵士（Sir Richard Owen）和托马斯·亨利·赫胥黎（Thomas Henry Huxley）之间就小海马体在猿类和人类中的存在展开了激烈的争论。欧文爵士提出，人类缺乏可识别的小海马体，这是他试图推翻进化论的一部分论据。随之而来的是一场激烈的个人和学术竞争，赫胥黎自己进行了解剖，以反驳欧文的说法。赫胥黎最终推翻了欧文的前提，为他对进化论的捍卫赢得了“达尔文的斗牛犬”这一称号。因此，这个相对隐晦的神经解剖学地标成为了 19 世纪最具争议性和最激烈的进化争论中的一个关键争议点。
