Morphology (biology)

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Morphology of a male Caprella mutica

Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and
structure of organisms and their specific structural features.[1]

This includes aspects of the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour,

pattern, size), i.e. external morphology (or eidonomy), as well as the
form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs, i.e.
internal morphology (or anatomy). This is in contrast to physiology,
which deals primarily with function. Morphology is a branch of life science
dealing with the study of gross structure of an organism or taxon and its
component parts.

Contents
1 History
2 Divisions of morphology
3 Morphology and classification
4 3D cell morphology:classification
5 See also
6 References

History
The word "morphology" is from the Ancient Greek don, morph, meaning
"form", and , lgos, meaning "word, study, research".
While the concept of form in biology, opposed to function, backs to
Aristotle (see Aristotle's biology), the field of morphology was developed
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1790) and independently by the German
anatomist and physiologist Karl Friedrich Burdach (1800).[2]

Among other important theorists of morphology are Lorenz Oken, Georges

Cuvier, tienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Richard Owen, Karl Gegenbaur and
Ernst Haeckel.[3][4]

In 1830, Cuvier and Geoffroy engaged in a famous debate, which is said to

exemplify the two major deviations in biological thinking at the time
whether animal structure was due to function or evolution. [5]

In English-speaking countries, the term "molecular morphology" has been

used for some time for describing the structure of compound molecules,
such as polymers [6] and ribonucleic acid (RNA). The term "gross
morphology" refers to the collective structures or an organism as a whole
as a general description of the form and structure of an organism, taking
into account all of its structures without specifying an individual structure.

Divisions of morphology
Comparative Morphology is analysis of the patterns of the locus of
structures within the body plan of an organism, and forms the basis
of taxonomical categorization.
Functional Morphology is the study of the relationship between the
structure and function of morphological features.
Experimental Morphology is the study of the effects of external factors
upon the morphology of organisms under experimental conditions,
such as the effect of genetic mutation.
"Anatomy" is a "branch of morphology that deals with the structure of
organisms".[7]
Morphology and classification
Most taxa differ morphologically from other taxa. Typically, closely related
taxa differ much less than more distantly related ones, but there are
exceptions to this. Cryptic species are species which look very similar, or
perhaps even outwardly identical, but are reproductively isolated.
Conversely, sometimes unrelated taxa acquire a similar appearance as a
result of convergent evolution or even mimicry. In addition, there can be
morphological differences within a species, such as in Apoica flavissima
where queens are significantly smaller than workers. A further problem
with relying on morphological data is that what may appear,
morphologically speaking, to be two distinct species, may in fact be shown
by DNA analysis to be a single species. The significance of these
differences can be examined through the use of allometric engineering in
which one or both species are manipulated to phenocopy the other
species.
3D cell morphology:classification
Invention and development of microscopy enable the observation of 3-D
cell morphology with both high spatial and temporal resolution. The
dynamic processes of these cell morphology which are controlled by a
complex system play an important role in varied important biological
process, such as immune and invasive responses.[8] [9]

See also
Comparative anatomy
Insect morphology
Morphometrics
Neuromorphology
Phenetics
Phenotype
Phenotypic plasticity
Plant morphology
References
1.
. askoxford.com http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/morphology?
view=uk. Retrieved 2010-06-24. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Mgdefrau, Karl (1992). Geschichte der Botanik [History of Botany] (2

ed.). Jena: Gustav Fischer Verlag. ISBN 3-437-20489-0.

Richards, R. J. (2008). A Brief History of Morphology. In: The Tragic Sense

of Life. Ernst Haeckel and the Struggle over Evolutionary Thought.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Di Gregorio, M. A. (2005). From Here to Eternity: Ernst Haeckel and

Scientific Faith. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Appel, Toby (1987). The Cuvier-Geoffroy Debate: French Biology in the

Decades Before Darwin. New York: Oxford University Press.

"Polymer Morphology". ceas.uc.edu/. Retrieved 2010-06-24.

"Anatomy Definition of anatomy by Merriam-Webster". merriam-

webster.com.

A. D. Doyle, R. J. Petrie, M. L. Kutys, and K. M. Yamada, Dimensions in cell

migration, Curr. Opin. Cell Biol., vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 642649, 2013.

1. A. C. Dufour, T. Y. Liu, D. Christel, T. Robin, C. Beryl, T. Roman, G. Nancy,

O.H. Alfred, and J. C. Olivo-Marin. "Signal Processing Challenges in
Quantitative 3-D Cell Morphology: More than meets the eye." IEEE
 Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 30-40, 2015.
[hide]
v
t
e
Anatomy and morphology

Gross anatomy
Superficial anatomy
Neuroanatomy
Comparative
anatomy
Fields
Transcendental
anatomy
Microscopic anatomy
histology
molecular

Bacterial cell
Bacteria
structure

Level of organization
Protists
Structures

Plant anatomy
Plant habit
Plant life-
form/growth-
Plants
form/physiognom
y
Plant morphology
Fruit anatomy

Body plan
Decapod anatomy
Invertebrates Gastropod anatomy
Insect morphology
Spider anatomy

Mammals Human anatomy

Neanderthal
anatomy
Cat anatomy
Dog anatomy
Horse anatomy
Elephant anatomy
Giraffe anatomy
 Bird anatomy
Other vertebrates Fish anatomy
Shark anatomy

Allometry
Brain morphometry
Other topics
Morphometrics
Physiognomy

LCCN: sh85087347
GND: 4407742-7
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BNF: cb16581219q (data)
NDL: 00565398
Categories:
Morphology (biology)
Comparative anatomy
Morphology

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