embryology

embryology
embryological /em'bree euh loj"i keuhl/, embryologic, adj.embryologically, adv.
/em'bree ol"euh jee/, n., pl. embryologies.
1. the science dealing with the formation, development, structure, and functional activities of embryos.
2. the origin, growth, and development of an embryo: the embryology of the chick.
[1840-50; EMBRYO- + -LOGY]

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Study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus.

Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descriptive and comparative studies. From the time of Aristotle it was debated whether the embryo was a preformed, miniature individual or an undifferentiated form that gradually became specialized. The latter theory was proved in 1827 when Karl Ernst Baer discovered the mammalian ovum (egg). The German anatomist Wilhelm Roux (1850–1924), noted for his pioneering studies on frog eggs (from 1885), became the founder of experimental embryology.

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      the study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus. Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descriptive and comparative studies. From the time of the Greek philosopher Aristotle it was debated whether the embryo was a preformed, miniature individual (a homunculus) or an undifferentiated form that gradually became specialized. Supporters of the latter theory included Aristotle; the English physician William Harvey, who labeled the theory epigenesis; the German physician Caspar Friedrick Wolff; and the Prussian-Estonian scientist Karl Ernst, Ritter von Baer (Baer, Karl Ernst, Ritter von, Edler Von Huthorn), who proved epigenesis with his discovery of the mammalian ovum (egg) in 1827. Other pioneers were the French scientists Pierre Belon and Marie-François-Xavier Bichat.

      Baer, who helped popularize Christian Heinrich Pander's 1817 discovery of primary germ layers, laid the foundations of modern comparative embryology in his landmark two-volume work Über Entwickelungsgeschichte der Thiere (1828–37; “On the Development of Animals”). Another formative publication was A Treatise on Comparative Embryology (1880–91) by the British zoologist Frances Maitland Balfour. Further research on embryonic development was conducted by the German anatomists Martin H. Rathke and Wilhelm Roux (Roux, Wilhelm) and also by the American scientist Thomas Hunt Morgan. Roux, noted for his pioneering studies on frog eggs (beginning in 1885), became the founder of experimental embryology. The principle of embryonic induction was studied by the German embryologists Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch, who furthered Roux's research on frog eggs in the 1890s, and Hans Spemann, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1935. Ross G. Harrison was an American biologist noted for his work on tissue culture.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Embryology — Em bry*ol o*gy, n. [Gr. e mbryon an embryo + logy: cf. F. embryologie.] (Biol.) The science which relates to the formation and development of the embryo in animals and plants; a study of the gradual development of the ovum until it reaches the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • embryology — 1859, from embryon (see EMBRYO (Cf. embryo)) + LOGY (Cf. logy). Related: Embryologist (c.1850) …   Etymology dictionary

  • embryology — [em΄brē äl′ə jē] n. [ EMBRYO + LOGY] the branch of biology dealing with the formation and development of embryos embryologic [em΄brēə läj′ik] adj. embryological embryologically adv. embryologist n …   English World dictionary

  • Embryology — 1 morula, 2 blastula 1 blastula, 2 gastrula with blastopor …   Wikipedia

  • embryology — [[t]e̱mbriɒ̱ləʤi[/t]] N UNCOUNT Embryology is the scientific study of embryos and their development. Derived words: embryologist [[t]e̱mbriɒ̱ləʤɪst[/t]] N COUNT ...a genetic embryologist at the hospital. embryological [[t]e̱mbriəlɒ̱ʤɪk(ə)l[/t]]… …   English dictionary

  • embryology — em•bry•ol•o•gy [[t]ˌɛm briˈɒl ə dʒi[/t]] n. pl. gies 1) dvl the study of embryonic formation and development 2) dvl the origin, growth, and development of an embryo: the embryology of the chick[/ex] • Etymology: 1840–50 em bry•o•log′i•cal əˈlɒdʒ… …   From formal English to slang

  • embryology — /ɛmbriˈɒlədʒi/ (say embree oluhjee) noun 1. the science of the embryo, its genesis, development, etc. 2. the origin, growth and development of an embryo: the embryology of the tadpole. {embryo + logy} –embryological /ˌɛmbriəˈlɒdʒɪkəl/ (say… …  

  • embryology — embriologija statusas T sritis augalininkystė apibrėžtis Gemalinių darinių atsiradimo ir diferenciacijos mokslas. Skiriama augalų, gyvulių ir žmogaus embriologija. atitikmenys: angl. embryology rus. эмбриология …   Žemės ūkio augalų selekcijos ir sėklininkystės terminų žodynas

  • embryology — noun Etymology: French embryologie Date: circa 1847 1. a branch of biology dealing with embryos and their development 2. the features and phenomena exhibited in the formation and development of an embryo • embryological adjective •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • embryology — n. [Gr. embryon, fetus; logos, discourse] The study of the formation, early growth and development of living organisms …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

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