The branch of biology that studies the growth and development from the fertilised egg to new adult mature organism. In a more restricted sense, it is limited to the period between fertilization of the egg and the hatchling or birth, which is both described and subjected to experimental analysis, especially during the rudimentary formation of the organism and its organ systems. Today, embryology is generally referred to as developmental biology.
See Adaptation, Behavioral embryology, Competence (embryology), Critical period, Developmental biology, Diachronic biology, Organism