Embryology

/ˌɛmbriːˈɒlədʒi/ noun

Definition

The science that studies how living organisms develop from a fertilized egg through all the stages until birth or hatching.

Etymology

From Greek embryon 'unborn creature' (from en- 'in' + bryein 'to swell') and -logia 'study of.' The field formalized in the 1800s with improved microscopy.

Kelly Says

Embryology is one of the best windows into evolution—the fact that human embryos develop gill slits (now ear bones) shows we inherited 400-million-year-old fish blueprints.

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