Martin Heidenhain studied medicine in Freiburg im Breisgau, and in 1890 became an assistant to Albert von Kölliker (1817-1905) at the University of Würzburg.
In 1899 he relocated to the University of Tübingen as an associate professor, where he remained for the rest of his career.
Heidenhain is remembered for his work in comparative anatomy, embryology and histology.
[3] In 1894 he introduced the word "telophase" for the last stage of mitosis.
His principal written work was Plasma und Zelle (1907-1911).