morphogenesis

American  

[mawr-fuh-jen-uh-sis] / ˌmɔr fəˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

Embryology.

1. the development of structural features of an organism or part.

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morphogenesis British  

/ ˌmɔːfəʊˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. the development of form and structure in an organism during its growth from embryo to adult

2. the evolutionary development of form in an organism or part of an organism

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morphogenesis Scientific  

/ môr′fō-jĕn′ĭ-sĭs /

1. Formation of the structure of an organism or part involving differentiation and growth of tissues and organs during development.

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Other Word Forms

• morphogenetic
  adjective
• morphogenic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of morphogenesis

First recorded in 1880–85; morpho- + genesis

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

morphogenesis

The main process affected was morphogenesis -- an organism developing its shape -- and shapeless embryos cannot survive.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, removes damaged or unnecessary cells and plays a vital role in development, including morphogenesis of fingers and toes.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Cryo-electron tomography of Marburg virus particles and their morphogenesis within infected cells.

From Nature ● Nov. 7, 2017

One of Lal’s innovations has been figuring out how to take advantage of morphogenesis, the process by which many species of insects transform from wriggling larvae to spindly, multilegged adults.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2013

We must imagine the morphogenesis of deep structures, built into our minds, for coding out, like proteins, the parts of speech.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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