File:HumanEmbryogenesis.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
ontogeny
Sign in to saveAlso known as ontogenesis, morphogenesis
thumb|300px|The initial stages of human embryogenesis thumb|300px|Parts of a human embryo
Ontogeny is the biological process of how an individual organism develops from its earliest stages, such as a fertilized egg, through embryonic development and growth into its adult form. Understanding ontogeny matters because it reveals how complex organisms like humans build themselves from simple beginnings, which helps explain both normal development and what can go wrong in birth defects or disease.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Ambystoma mavortium.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Ontogeny
via Wikidata · CC0
~17 min read
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Developmental stages
- Fertilization
- Cleavage
- Blastulation
- Gastrulation
- Organogenesis
- Neurulation
- Primary Neurulation
- Secondary Neurulation
- Larval and juvenile phases
- Metamorphosis
- Adulthood
- Senescence
- Ontogenetic allometry
- See also
- Notes and references
- External links
thumb|300px|The initial stages of human embryogenesis thumb|300px|Parts of a human embryo
Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the study of the entirety of an organism's lifespan.