Christian Andreas Victor Hensen (born February 10, 1835 in Schleswig, Germany; died April 5, 1924 in Kiel, Germany) was a German zoologist (planktology). He coined the term plankton and laid the foundation for biological oceanography.

Hensen studied medicine at the universities of Würzburg, Berlin (studying under Müller) and Kiel. In 1859, he received his doctorate in Kiel for a thesis on epilepsy and urinary secretions.

In 1867, he became a member of the Prussian House of Representatives to push towards studies of the ocean. Upon his initiative, the Royal Prussian Commission for the Exploration of the Oceans was founded.

From 1871 to 1891, Hensen was professor of physiology at the University of Kiel. During his time, he was head of five marine biological expeditions to the Baltic and North Sea, as well as the Atlantic.

Hensen also worked in embryology and anatomy. He discovered a structure in the ear, the Hensen duct (or Canal of Henson; also Hensen's cells, Hensen's stripe), and a structure essential for the development of birds, the Hensen's node.

The RV VICTOR HENSEN is a research vessel named in his honor.

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Works

• Zur Morphologie der Schnecke des Menschen und der Säugethiere (1863)

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External links

• Some text by Hensen (in German and English)
• Image of Hensen
• The vessel Victor Hensen (in German)
• Correspondence between Darwin and Hensen

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