The science of biology includes a whole range of different sections, because it is difficult to embrace all the diversity of living things and study all the vast biomass that our planet provides us with one discipline.
Each science, in turn, also has a certain classification of sections dealing with the solution of any problems. Thus, it turns out that all living things are under the vigilant control of man, are known by him, compared, studied and used in their own needs.
One of these disciplines is embryology, which will be discussed further.
Embryology is a biological science
What is embryology? What does she do and what does she study? Embryology is a science that studies part of the life cycle of a living organism from the moment of the formation of a zygote (fertilization of an egg) until its very birth. That is, it studies the entire process of embryonic development in detail, starting with the repeated fragmentation of a fertilized cell (the gastrula stage) and until the birth of a finished organism.
Object and subject of study
The object of study of this science are embryos(embryos) of the following organisms:
- Plants.
- Animal.
- Human.
The subject of embryology is the following processes:
- Cell division after fertilization.
- Formation of three germ layers in the future embryo.
- Formation of coelomic cavities.
- Formation of the symmetry of the future embryo.
- The appearance of membranes around the embryo, taking part in its formation.
- Education of organs and their systems.
If you look at the object and subject of study of this science, it becomes more clear what embryology is and what it does.
Goals and objectives
The main goal of this science is to give answers to questions about the emergence of life on our planet, about how a multicellular organism is formed, what laws of organic nature obey all the processes of formation and development of the embryo, as well as about what factors influence this formation and how.
To achieve this goal, the science of embryology solves the following tasks:
- Detailed study of the processes of progenesis (the formation of male and female germ cells - oogenesis and spermatogenesis).
- Consideration of the mechanisms of zygote formation and further formation of the embryo until the very moment of its release (hatching from an egg, egg or birth).
- Study of the complete cell cycle at the molecular level using high-resolution state-of-the-artequipment.
- Review and comparison of the mechanisms of the cell in normal and pathological processes, in order to obtain important data for medicine.
Solving the above tasks and achieving the set goal, the science of embryology will be able to advance humanity in understanding the natural laws of the organic world, as well as find solutions to many problems in medicine, in particular, those associated with infertility and childbearing.
Development history
The development of embryology as a science is on a difficult and thorny path. It all started with two great scientists-philosophers of all times and peoples - Aristotle and Hippocrates. Moreover, it was precisely on the basis of embryology that they opposed each other's views.
Thus, Hippocrates was a supporter of a theory that lasted a very long time, until the 17th 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 did not exactly decide on their views: some believed that it was still in the female, others, that in the male cell). Thus, it turns out that the embryo simply grows with all the ready-made organs received from the father or mother.
Also later supporters of this theory were Charles Bonnet, Marcello Malpighi and others.
Aristotle, on the contrary, was an opponentthe theory of preformism and a supporter of the theory of epigenesis. Its essence boiled down to the following: all organs and structural elements of living organisms are formed inside the embryo gradually, under the influence of the conditions of the environment and internal environment of the organism. Most of the Renaissance scientists, led by Georges Buffon, Karl Baer, were supporters of this theory.
Actually, as a science, embryology was formed in the 18th century. It was then that a series of brilliant discoveries occurred that made it possible to analyze and generalize all the accumulated material and combine it into an integral theory.
- 1759 K. Wolff describes the presence and formation of germ layers during the embryonic development of a chicken, which then give rise to new structures and organs.
- 1827 Carl Baer discovers the mammalian egg. He also publishes his work, which describes the gradual formation of germ layers and organs from them in the development of birds.
- Karl Baer reveals similarities in the embryonic structure of birds, reptiles and mammals, which allows him to conclude that the origin of species is the same, and also formulate his own rule (Baer's rule): the development of organisms occurs from the general to the particular. That is, initially all structures are the same, regardless of the 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 vertebrates and invertebrates, plants, and humans is being formed.
Modern Embryology
At the present stage of development, the main task of embryology is to reveal the essence of the mechanisms of cell differentiation in multicellular organisms, to identify the features of the influence of various reagents on the development of the embryo. Much attention is also paid to the study of the mechanisms of the occurrence of pathologies and their influence on the development of the embryo.
The achievements of modern science, which allow to more fully reveal the question of what embryology is, are the following:
- D. P. Filatov determined the mechanisms of mutual influence of cellular structures on each other in the process of embryonic development, connected the data of embryology with the theoretical material of evolutionary doctrine.
- Severtsov developed the doctrine of recapitulation, the essence of which is that ontogeny repeats phylogeny.
- P. P. Ivanov creates the theory of larval body segments in protostomes.
- Svetlov formulates provisions that shed light on the most difficult, critical moments of embryogenesis.
Modern embryology does not stop at this and continues to study and discover new regularities and mechanisms of the cytogenetic bases of the cell.
Connection with other sciences
The basics of embryology are closely related to other sciences. After all, only the complex use of theoretical data from all related disciplines allows one to obtain really valuable results and draw important conclusions.
Embryology is closely related to the following sciences:
- histology;
- cytology;
- genetics;
- biochemistry;
- molecular biology;
- anatomy;
- physiology;
- medicine.
Embryological data are important foundations for the listed sciences, and vice versa. That is, the connection is two-way, mutual.
Classification of sections of embryology
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 prior to its formation. In addition, the area of its study includes physico-chemical factors that affect the fetus. Therefore, such a large theoretical amount of material allowed the formation of several sections of this science:
- General Embryology.
- Experimental.
- Comparative.
- Environmental.
- Ontogenetics.
Methods of studying science
Embryology, like other sciences, has its own methods of studying different issues.
- Microscopy (electronic, light).
- Method of colored structures.
- Intravital observation (tracking of morphogenetic movements).
- Using histochemistry.
- Introduction of radioactive isotopes.
- Biochemical methods.
- Dissection of parts of the embryo.
Study of the human embryo
Human embryology is one of the most important branches of this science, as thanks to the many results of its research, people have managed to solve many medical problems.
What exactly does this discipline study?
- The complete step-by-step process of embryo formation in humans, which includes several main stages - cleavage, gastrulation, histogenesis and organogenesis.
- Formation of various pathologies during embryogenesis and their causes.
- The influence of physical and chemical factors on the human embryo.
- The possibilities of creating artificial conditions for the formation of nuclei and the introduction of chemical agents to monitor reactions to them.
The Meaning of Science
Embryology makes it possible to learn such features of the formation of embryos as:
- timing of formation of organs and their systems from germ layers;
- the most critical moments of embryo ontogeny;
- what influences their formation and how it can be managed for human needs.
Her research, together with data from other sciences, allows humanity to solve important problems of the universal medical and veterinary plan.
The role of discipline for people
What is human embryology? What does she give him? Why is it necessary to develop and study it?
Firstly, embryology studies and allows solving modern problems of fertilization and embryo formation. Therefore, methods of artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood and so on have been developed today.
Secondly, embryology methods allow us to predict all possible fetal anomalies and preventthem.
Third, embryologists can formulate and apply provisions for the prevention of miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies and exercise control over pregnant women.
This is 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.
