Langman memorial plaque in the McGill Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building.
Jan Langman (b. 21 October 1923; d. 2 October 1981) began his anatomy career under the direction of M.W. Woerdeman in Amsterdam. He used autoradiography to study neuron differentiation during embryogenesis.
Langman was a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at McGill from 1957 to 1964. His textbook Medical Embryology (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins) was first published in 1963 and has become the standard in the field. It has been translated into several languages and is now in its 15th edition (2025). In 1964, Langman became Professor and Chair of Anatomy at the University of Virginia where he developed a department that excelled at research and teaching.
The illustrations (by Jill Leland) taken from the second edition of the textbook Medical Embryology are used to explain the descriptions of normal embryology in an exhibit mounted in the Maude Abbott Medical Museum in the McGill Strathcona Building.
Reference
Langman, Jan. Medical Embryology: Human Development—Normal and Abnormal. Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkins Company, 2nd ed, 1969.