The science of biology includes a whole host of different sections, because it is difficult to grasp all that variety of living with one discipline and study all the vast biomass that our planet provides us with.
Each science, in turn, also has a certain classification of sections involved in solving any problems. Thus, it turns out that all life is under the vigilant control of a person, cognized by him, compared, studied and used in his own needs.
One of these disciplines is embryology, which will be discussed further.
Embryology - Biological Science
What is embryology? What does she do and what does she study? Embryology is a science that explores part of the life cycle of a living organism from the moment a zygote is formed (fertilization of an egg) until its birth. That is, he studies the entire process of embryonic development in detail, starting with repeated fragmentation of the fertilized cell (gastrula stage) and until the ready-made organism is born.
Object and subject of study
The object of study of this science are the embryos (embryos) of the following organisms:
- Plants.
- Animals.
- Of man.
The subject of the study of embryology are the following processes:
- Cell division after fertilization.
- The formation of three germ layers in the future embryo.
- The formation of coelomic cavities.
- The formation of the symmetry of the future embryo.
- The appearance of membranes around the embryo, taking part in its formation.
- The formation of organs and their systems.
If you look at the object and subject of research of this science, it becomes more clear what embryology is and what it does.
Targets and goals
The main goal that this science sets before itself is to give answers to questions about the appearance of life on our planet, about how the formation of a multicellular organism occurs, what laws of an organic nature govern all the processes of formation and development of the embryo, and also about what factors and how do they influence this formation.
To achieve this goal, embryology science solves the following tasks:
- A detailed study of progenesis processes (the formation of male and female germ cells - ovogenesis and spermatogenesis).
- Consideration of the mechanisms of zygote formation and further embryo formation until the moment it emerges (hatching from an egg, egg or birth).
- The study of the complete cell cycle at the molecular level, using high-resolution modern equipment.
- Consideration and comparison of the mechanisms of cell function in normal and pathological processes, in order to obtain important data for medicine.
Solving the above problems and achieving its goal, embryology science will be able to advance mankind in understanding the natural laws of the organic world, as well as find a solution to many problems in medicine, in particular, related to infertility and childbearing.
History of development
The development of embryology as a science follows a complex and thorny path. It all started with two great philosopher scientists of all time - Aristotle and Hippocrates. Moreover, it was on the basis of embryology that they opposed each other's views.
So, Hippocrates was a supporter of the theory, which existed for a very long time, up to the XVII century. It was called "preformism," and its essence was as follows. Each living organism only increases in size over time, but does not form any new structures and organs within itself. Because all the organs are already in finished form, but very reduced, are in the male or female reproductive cell (here the supporters of the theory didn’t have a definite opinion: some believed that it was still in the female, others that were in the male cell). Thus, it turns out that the embryo simply grows up with all the finished organs received from the father or mother.
Also later supporters of this theory were Charles Bonnet, Marcello Malpigi and others.
Aristotle, on the contrary, was an opponent of the theory of preformism and a supporter of the theory of epigenesis. Its essence was as follows: all organs and structural elements of living organisms are formed inside the embryo gradually, under the influence of environmental and internal conditions of the body. The supporters of this theory were most Renaissance scholars led by Georges Buffon, Karl Baer.
Actually, as a science, embryology was formed in the 18th century. It was then that a number of brilliant discoveries occurred, which made it possible to analyze and generalize all the accumulated material and combine it into a coherent theory.
- 1759 K. Wolf describes the presence and formation of embryonic leaves during the embryonic development of chicken, which then give rise to new structures and organs.
- 1827 Karl Baer opens the mammalian egg. He also publishes his work, which describes the phased formation of germ layers and organs from them in the process of development of birds.
- Karl Baer reveals similarities in the embryonic structure of birds, reptiles and mammals, which allows him to draw a conclusion about the unity of the origin of species, and also to formulate his rule (Baire rule): the development of organisms occurs from general to particular. That is, initially all structures are one, regardless of genus, species or class. And only over time do individual species specializations of each creature occur.
After such discoveries and descriptions, the discipline begins to gain momentum in development. The embryology of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, plants, as well as humans is being formed.
Modern embryology
At the present stage of development, embryology sees as the main task the autopsy of the mechanisms of differentiation of cells in multicellular organisms, identifying the characteristics of the influence of various reagents on embryo development. Much attention is also paid to studying the mechanisms of the occurrence of pathologies and their influence on the development of the embryo.
The achievements of modern science, allowing to more fully reveal the question of what embryology is, are the following:
- D.P. Filatov determined the mechanisms of the mutual influence of cellular structures on each other in the process of embryonic development, linked the data of embryology with the theoretical material of evolutionary doctrine.
- Severtsov developed the doctrine of recapitulation, the essence of which is that ontogenesis repeats phylogenesis.
- P.P. Ivanov creates the theory of larval body segments in primary animals.
- Svetlov formulates the provisions that illuminated the most complex, critical moments of embryogenesis.
Modern embryology does not stop there and continues to study and discover new patterns and mechanisms of the cytogenetic basis of the cell.
Communication with other sciences
The basics of embryology are closely related to other sciences. After all, only the integrated use of theoretical data from all related disciplines allows us to obtain truly valuable results and draw important conclusions.
Embryology is closely related to the following sciences:
- histology;
- cytology;
- genetics;
- biochemistry;
- molecular biology;
- anatomy;
- physiology;
- the medicine.
Embryology data are important foundations for the listed sciences, and vice versa. That is, the relationship is two-way, mutual.
Classification of embryology sections
Embryology is a science that studies not only the formation of the embryo itself, but also the laying of all its structures and the origin of germ cells preceding its formation. In addition, the field of her study includes physicochemical factors that affect the fetus. Therefore, such a large theoretical volume of material allowed the formation of several sections of this science:
- General embryology.
- Experimental
- Comparative.
- Ecological.
- Ontogenetics.
Science study methods
Embryology, like other sciences, has its own methods for studying various issues.
- Microscopy (electronic, light).
- The method of painted structures.
- Intravital observation (tracking morphogenetic movements).
- The use of histochemistry.
- The introduction of radioactive isotopes.
- Biochemical methods.
- The preparation of the parts of the embryo.
Human embryo study
Human embryology is one of the most important sections of this science, because thanks to many of the results of its research, people have managed to solve many medical problems.
What exactly does this discipline study?
- The complete phased process of embryo formation in humans, which includes several basic stages - crushing, gastrulation, histogenesis and organogenesis.
- The formation of various pathologies during embryogenesis and the causes of their appearance.
- The influence of physico-chemical factors on the human embryo.
- Possibilities of creating artificial conditions for the formation of nuclei and the introduction of chemical agents to monitor reactions to them.
The value of science
Embryology makes it possible to know such features of the formation of embryos as:
- the timing of the formation of organs and their systems from germ layers;
- the most critical moments of embryo ontogenesis;
- what affects their formation and how it can be controlled for human needs.
Her research, together with data from other sciences, allows mankind to solve important problems of the universal human medical and veterinary plan.
The role of discipline for people
What is embryology for humans? What does she give him? Why is its development and study necessary?
Firstly, embryology studies and allows solving modern problems of fertilization and embryo formation. Therefore, today methods have been developed for artificial insemination, surrogacy, and so on.
Secondly, embryology methods make it possible to predict all possible fetal abnormalities and prevent them.
Thirdly, embryologists can formulate and apply the provisions on preventive measures for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies and exercise control over pregnant women.
These are not all the advantages of the considered discipline for a person. It is an intensively developing science, the future of which is yet to come.