Richard Owen: an overlooked parasitologist

Abstract

Richard Owen (1804–1892) is one of the most important British biologists of the nineteenth century, making significant contributions in the field of comparative anatomy. However, one aspect of his scientific output continues to be overlooked, namely his contributions to parasitology and the influence parasites had on formulating his ideas on comparative anatomy and sexual reproduction. An overview of Owen's writings on parasites is presented delineated into three phases, a primary research phase during the 1830s including descriptions of the important human parasite Trichinella spiralis, a secondary phase of using parasites as models for his biological theories during the 1840s and 1850s, and a latter phase dominated by the controversy surrounding priority for the discovery of T. spiralis. Owen is considered as a pioneer of parasitology research whose popularization of the field provided a receptive environment in the UK that facilitates the ground breaking research in tropical parasitology undertaken by other researchers during the late nineteenth century. A bibliography of Owen's publications on parasites is included as an appendix.