Sir William Turner and his studies on the mammalian placenta

William Turner was appointed Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1867, and from 1903 until his death in 1916, he was Principal and Vice-Chancellor. He was an outstanding teacher and many of those he taught went on to occupy chairs of anatomy. He published widely on anatomical subjects and one of his interests was comparative anatomy and physiology of the placenta. This paper takes a brief look at Turner's studies on the anatomical structure of the placenta, its comparative anatomy, his thoughts about its physiology and its place in the evolutionary process. At the time, these lectures constituted an anatomical and physiological classic. At the time Turner prepared his lectures, which were delivered in 1875 and 1876, little was known about the gestatory process in marsupials or monotremes. These mammals have a very brief period of intrauterine gestation and placentation and mention is made of studies that have been done in recent times on this subject.