--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the embryological record, as it is…" description: "\"... the embryological record, as it is usually presented to us, is both imperfect and misleading. It may be compared to an ancient manuscript, with man..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-maitland-balfour-83150_ancient_the-embryological-record-as-it-is-usuall_2631392.jpg" --- # ... the embryological record, as it is usually presented… ![“... the embryological record, as it is usually presented to us, is both imperfect and misleading. It may be compared to an ancient manuscript, with many of the sheets lost, others displaced, and with spurious passages interpolated by a later hand. ... Like the scholar with his manuscript, the…” quote by Francis Maitland Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-maitland-balfour-83150_ancient_the-embryological-record-as-it-is-usuall_2631392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-maitland-balfour-83150_ancient_the-embryological-record-as-it-is-usuall_2631392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-maitland-balfour-83150_ancient_the-embryological-record-as-it-is-usuall_2631392.jpg) > “... the embryological record, as it is usually presented to us, is both imperfect and misleading. It may be compared to an ancient manuscript, with many of the sheets lost, others displaced, and with spurious passages interpolated by a later hand. ... Like the scholar with his manuscript, the embryologist has by a process of careful and critical examination to determine where the gaps are present, to detect the later insertions, and to place in order what has been misplaced.” [Francis Maitland Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-maitland-balfour/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embryological data are incomplete and corrupted, like a damaged manuscript. **In simple terms:** Embryology is like a broken book. Key Takeaway Critically assess scientific evidence. Themes science methodology history of science Mood analytical skeptical Type educational scientific When to use this quote - research design - educational teaching - science communication Key Concepts critical analysis data reconstruction Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve data reliability? - What methods reveal hidden gaps? A Different Perspective May overstate uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Careful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careful/) [Critical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/) [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Embryological Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryological-record-2193830/) [Embryologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryologist-2193833/) [Embryologist Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embryologist-process-2193832/) [Examination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/examination/) [Gaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaps/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Imperfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfect/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Manuscript](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscript/) [Manuscript Embryologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscript-embryologist-2193831/) [Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mislead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mislead/) [Misplaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misplaced/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Passages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passages/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheets/) ## Related quotes > [The embryological record is almost always abbreviated in accordance with the tendency of nature (to be explained on the principle of survival of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-maitland-balfour/the-embryological-record-is-almost-always-abbreviated-in-accordance/) [Francis Maitland Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-maitland-balfour/) > [I love all of my children equally, all of my printed books, and each one bears a special piece of me. 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Konigsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-konigsburg/) > [“Thanks to Karen Connelly who read earlier versions of this manuscript and to Ronald Hatch my editor and publisher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-holmes/thanks-to-karen-connelly-who-read-earlier-versions-of-this-manuscript/) [Nancy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-holmes/) > [“Ben ducked beneath the arbor and paused by the fishpond when a memory crept upon him like a shadow. 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I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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