Studnicka, František Karel

Born Nov. 25, 1870, in Prague; died there Aug. 2,1955. Czech histologist and embryologist. Academician of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (1952); corresponding member of the International Academy of History of Sciences in Paris.

Studnička completed his university studies in Prague in 1895. He taught in the Czech Higher Technical Institute in Brno from 1901 to 1919 and was appointed a professor there in 1909. He was made a professor of the University of Brno in 1919 and of Charles University in 1934. In his main works, Studnička attempted to substantiate the exoplasm theory, which, in contrast to prevailing concepts of the early 20th century, emphasized the importance of intercellular structures in the organism. He devoted particular attention to acellular tissues. Studnička was awarded the State Prize of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1951.