Editing Ontogeny (section)

{{Short description|Origination and development of an organism}}
{{About-distinguish-text|ontogeny in biology|the philosophical concept [[ontology]], or the medical terms [[oncology]] or [[odontology]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
[[File:HumanEmbryogenesis.svg|thumb|300px|The initial stages of [[human embryogenesis]]]]
[[File:Human embryo 8 weeks 2.JPG|thumb|300px|Parts of a human embryo]]

'''Ontogeny''' (also '''ontogenesis''') is the origination and development of an [[organism]] (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development<ref>{{cite journal
 | author-link = Michael Tomasello
 | title = The Normative Turn in Early Moral Development
 | journal = Human Development
 | volume = 61
 | issue = 4–5
 | pages = 248–263
 | date = 27 September 2018 | doi = 10.1159/000492802
 | last1 = Tomasello
 | first1 = Michael
 }}</ref>), usually from the time of [[fertilization]] of the [[ovum|egg]] to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the study of the entirety of an organism's lifespan.

Ontogeny is the developmental history of an organism within its own lifetime, as distinct from [[phylogeny]], which refers to the [[evolution]]ary history of a species. Another way to think of ontogeny is that it is the process of an organism going through all of the developmental stages over its lifetime.  The developmental history includes all the developmental events that occur during the existence of an organism, beginning with the changes in the egg at the time of fertilization and events from the time of birth or hatching and afterward (i.e., growth, remolding of body shape, development of secondary sexual characteristics, etc.).<ref>{{Cite web|title=ontogeny {{!}} biology {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/ontogeny-biology|access-date=2022-02-18|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> While developmental (i.e., ontogenetic) processes can influence subsequent evolutionary (e.g., phylogenetic) processes<ref>[[Stephen Jay Gould|Gould, S.J.]] (1977). ''Ontogeny and Phylogeny''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press</ref> (see [[evolutionary developmental biology]] and [[recapitulation theory]]), individual organisms develop (ontogeny), while species evolve (phylogeny).

Ontogeny, [[embryology]] and [[developmental biology]] are closely related studies and those terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Aspects of ontogeny are [[morphogenesis]], the development of form and shape of an organism; tissue growth; and [[cellular differentiation]]. The term ontogeny has also been used in [[cell biology]] to describe the development of various [[cell types]] within an organism.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Thiery|first=Jean Paul|title=Epithelial–mesenchymal transitions in development and pathologies|journal=Current Opinion in Cell Biology|date=1 December 2003|volume=15|issue=6|pages=740–746|doi=10.1016/j.ceb.2003.10.006|pmid=14644200}}</ref>  Ontogeny is an important field of study in many disciplines, including [[developmental biology]], [[cell biology]], [[genetics]], [[developmental psychology]], [[developmental cognitive neuroscience]], and [[developmental psychobiology]].  Ontogeny is used in [[anthropology]] as "the process through which each of us embodies the history of our own making".<ref name="Toren, Christina 2002">{{cite book |last1=Toren |first1=Christina |chapter=Comparison and ontogeny |page=187 |editor-last1=Fox |editor-last2=Gingrich |editor-first1=Richard G. |editor-first2=Andre |date=2002 |title=Anthropology, by Comparison |isbn=978-0-203-46390-1 |doi=10.4324/9780203463901 }}</ref>