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Ontogeny

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Ontogeny (also ontogenesis or morphogenesis) (ontos present participle of 'to be', genesis 'creation') describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilized egg to its mature form. Ontogeny is studied in developmental biology, developmental psychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, and developmental psychobiology. Ontogeny is that branch of life science which deals with the study of origin and development of an organism from fertilized ovum to its mature form. In more general terms, ontogeny is defined as the history of structural change in a unity, which can be a cell, an organism, or a society of organisms, without the loss of the organization that allows that unity to exist (Maturana and Varela, 1987, p. 74).


See also

Look up ontogeny in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  • Maturana, H. R., Varela F. J. (1987). The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding. Boston: Shambhala Publications Inc.
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