ontogeny
/ɔn'tɔdʤini/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- (Biology) The process of an individual organism's growth and development from a single cell to a mature form: "Ontogeny" refers to the entire sequence of biological events involved in an organism's life cycle, from its inception (e.g., fertilization) to its mature state, encompassing cellular differentiation, organ formation, and maturation.
Usage
- "Ontogeny" is a formal, scientific term used primarily in biology, developmental biology, and related fields. It describes the biological history of an individual organism, as opposed to the evolutionary history of a species (phylogeny).
Examples
- Noun:
- The study of human ontogeny tracks development from embryo to adult.
- Understanding the ontogeny of a specific behavior can reveal its biological basis.
Advanced Usage
- "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny": A now largely discredited biological hypothesis (Haeckel's recapitulation theory) suggesting that the developmental stages of an individual organism (ontogeny) mirror the evolutionary stages of its ancestors (phylogeny).
- The phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is a classic, though oversimplified, concept in the history of biology.
Variants and Related Words
- Ontogenetic (adj): Pertaining to ontogeny.
- Researchers observed ontogenetic changes in the fish's coloration.
- Ontogenesis (n): A synonym for ontogeny.
- The terms "ontogeny" and "ontogenesis" are often used interchangeably.
Synonyms
- Development: The process of growth and change.
- Growth: The process of increasing in size or maturity.
- Maturation: The process of becoming mature.
Antonyms
- Phylogeny: The evolutionary development and history of a species or group of organisms.
Noun
- (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
- he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children