embryology

American  

[em-bree-ol-uh-jee] / ˌɛm briˈɒl ə dʒi /

noun

embryologies plural

1. the science dealing with the formation, development, structure, and functional activities of embryos.

2. the origin, growth, and development of an embryo.

   the embryology of the chick.

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embryology British  

/ ˌɛmbrɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌɛmbrɪˈɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the branch of science concerned with the study of embryos

2. the structure and development of the embryo of a particular organism

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embryology Scientific  

/ ĕm′brē-ŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of embryos and their development.

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embryology Cultural  

1. The study of the embryo; a major field of research in modern biology.

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Other Word Forms

• embryologic
  adjective
• embryological
  adjective
• embryologically
  adverb
• embryologist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of embryology

First recorded in 1840–50; embryo- + -logy

Example Sentences

According to the report, the embryology laboratory at Al-Basma was hit in early December 2023, reportedly destroying around 4,000 embryos as well as 1,000 sperm samples and unfertilised eggs.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025

Also named in the suit are In VitroTech Labs, a third-party embryology center, and its parent company, Beverly Sunset Surgical Associates, both owned by Mor.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2021

Nipam Patel, an evolutionary and developmental biologist at the Marine Biology Laboratory, first investigated the wings of several such species with his students in an embryology class.

From Scientific American • Nov. 1, 2021

Darwin developed his ideas on sexual selection while immersed in fields as diverse as embryology and pigeon breeding.

From Nature • Jul. 17, 2018

Scientists studying living organisms were far more preoccupied with other matters: embryology, cell biology, the origin of species, and evolution.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee