Final answer:
Embryology is the biological study of an organism's development from fertilization to adulthood, revealing relationships between species and explaining adult anatomical complexity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Embryology is the study of the development of an organism from fertilization to its mature form.
This field of biology provides crucial insights into the relatedness between different species by observing the anatomical changes that occur from the embryonic stages to adulthood.
Notable examples include the presence of gill slits and tails in vertebrate embryos that eventually disappear in adult terrestrial forms but are retained in adult aquatic species.
The embryonic similarities across various organisms suggest a common ancestry, and the study of embryology can help explain the complexity and evolution of adult structures.
embryology, the study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus. Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descriptive and comparative studies.