Dr. Arthur Hertig; Research Led to Birth-Control Pill

Dr. Arthur T. Hertig, whose studies on human embryos helped lead to the development of the birth control pill and in-vitro fertilization, died Friday at 86 at a hospital here after colon surgery.

The researcher, a retired professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School who lived in nearby Lexington, was known at the school for his work with fetuses less than two weeks old. From 1952 to 1968, he was chairman of the pathology department.

With Dr. John Rock of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Hertig studied life at the youngest state ever observed, including an ovum only 60 hours old. From their research came the successful transplantation of fertilized eggs and infertility therapy.

Hertig, a gynecological pathologist, also studied ovarian tumors, gynecological cancers and miscarriages. His research was credited by other scientists with leading to the development of the birth control pill.

After 37 years at the medical school, Hertig resigned in 1970 to study the morphology of primate ovaries at the New England Regional Primate Research Center.