comparative anatomy
1
4.6
- noun
- /kəmˈpærətɪv əˈnætəmi/
- Specialized
:
anatomía comparativa
- His thesis on comparative anatomy examines the similarities between the skeletal systems of birds and bats.
Examples
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During my undergraduate experience, enrollment in comparative anatomy was 8—the premeds avoided it because it was difficult to earn an A in that class.
Blog text (23) -
But it was Georges Cuvier who would provide the solution based on comparative anatomy.
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However, adaptation has been investigated in other fields, particularly biomechanics and comparative anatomy.
Academic text (1995) -
Some were amazingly ignorant of comparative anatomy and evolution.
Blog text (23) -
Prior to the development of modern molecular biology, comparative anatomy was the primary means for investigating such elements of evolution as the origin of appendages.
Academic text (1997) -
While the Second World War raged, the attention of Frederick T. Lewis, a Harvard professor of comparative anatomy, was drawn to a letter from 1714.
Academic text (2010) -
Such an evolutionary interpretation of the fossil evidence is also supported by the study of phylogeny, embryology, and comparative anatomy of modern forms.
Academic text (2001) -
Studies from the biomechanical and comparative anatomy literature investigating skin and related collagenous tissues indicate two important concepts.
Academic text (1995) -
Scientists have complete skeletons of some dinosaurs that provide guidelines for diagnostic studies of others; though muscles, skin, and organs are missing, their relation to the skeleton can be determined through other disciplines such as comparative anatomy, morphology, and biology.
Academic text (1994) -
In her graduate program, she specializes in comparative anatomy to better understand how different species adapt to their environments.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional from 'comparative' (involving comparison) + 'anatomy' (study of bodily structures), so the phrase denotes the study of anatomical similarities and differences across species. This is a standard descriptive compound found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Comparative anatomy comes from the simple image of putting two animals side by side and looking at their body parts. The word comparative means 'to compare' and anatomy means 'study of body parts', and early scientists compared bones like a human arm and a whale fin to see the same shapes, so the phrase now means studying similarities and differences in animal body parts.