Hemiteratics

/ˌhɛmɪtəˈrætɪks/ noun

Definition

The scientific study or classification of partially monstrous or abnormally developed organisms.

Etymology

From hemiteratic + -ics (suffix indicating a field of study or practice). Related to the broader field of teratology, developing in 19th-century developmental biology.

Kelly Says

Hemiteratics is a subsection of teratology—while teratology studies all kinds of birth defects and abnormal development, hemiteratics focuses specifically on partial abnormalities, making it useful for understanding how development can go halfway wrong.

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