1822 medical studies at the University of Erlangen; 1824 at the University of Würzburg; 1826 M.D. from Würzburg University; 1836-1837 further studies at Paris under G. Cuvier; prosector of anatomy at Erlangen; 1829 Privatdozent; 1831 associate professor of comparative anatomy and zoology; 1832 professor of comparative anatomy and zoology at Erlangen; 1840 professor of physiology, comparative anatomy and general natural history at Göttingen in succession to J. F. Blumenbach; curator of Blumenbach's craniological collection and lecturer on anthropology; founder of the Göttingen Physiological Institute.