Embryology

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Embryology is the branch of developmental biology that studies the beginning and early growth of sexually reproducing organisms. This scientific specialty focuses on the formation and development of embryos. The embryo is an animal or plant in its earliest stage of life. An embryologist is a person who studies embryos (Greek: έμβρυον), the formation and development of which is known as embryogenesis.

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

Ernst Haeckel's embryo drawings

Main Article: Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

The (now discredited) theory of recapitulation was first set forth in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, who stated that organisms repeat their evolutionary history during embryo development. This theory was summed-up by the phrase ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.