General Zoology
FOR MIDWIVES
Introduction
Zoology: Greek ZOO(animal) +LOGOS(study/science)
Study of the animal kingdom
Part of BIOLOGY (study of living things)
Broad classification: Living things are either plants or animals.
Animals are mobile
Animals are either unicellular (one-cell) or multicellular (many cells)
Protozoans (first animals) are unicellular
Multicellular organisms may be macroscopic or microscopic.
General Animal Features
All are HETEROTROPHS (obtain energy by ingesting other organisms
Herbivore: eating plants
Carnivore: eating animals
Omnivore: eating both
MULTICELLULARITY
TISSUE: the collection of cells performing similar function.
They do not contain a CELL WALL but instead have a CELL
MEMBRANE/PLASMALEMMA that functions to maintain HOMEOSTASIS.
There is active MOVEMENT
General Animal Features
There is DIVERSITY in niche.
DIVERSE IN FORM: due to evolution and adaptation to the changing
environment
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION: producing two gametes
EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT: male gamete + female gamete = zygote that
divides by cleavage (mitotic divisions) into blastula
Brief History of the Science of Zoology
Discovery, and
Year Significant Person significant events
350 BC Aristotle Founds the discipline of
zoology
350 BC Herophilos Dissects the human body
Writes the first known
300 BC Diocles anatomy book
Brief History of the Science of Zoology
Discovery and
Year Significant person significant events
130-200 BC Galen Writes treatise on
human anatomy
1628 AD William Harvey Writes treatise on
circulation of blood
“All animals develop
1651 AD William Harvey from eggs.”
Brief History of the Science of Zoology
Discovery and
Year Significant Person significant events
1663 AD Robert Hooke Observes cells thru
microscope using cork
Describes microscopic life
1673 AD Anton van
Observes bacteria
Leeuwenhoek
Anton van
1683 AD Develops taxonomy using
Leeuwenhoek binomial nomenclatre
1735 AD
Carolus Linnaeus
Brief History of the Science of Zoology
Discovery and
Year Significant Person significant events
1839 AD Theodore Schwann “All animal tissues are
composed of cells.”
Charles Darwin Theory f evolution by
1859 AD natural selection
Rudolf Virchow
Cells can only arise from
1858 AD pre-existing cells.
Brief History of the Science of Zoology
Discovery and
Year Significant Person significant events
1864 AD Louis Pasteur Disproves
spontaneous
generation of life
1866 AD Gregor Mendel
Formulates Laws of
Inheritance
1969 AD Robert Whittaker Proposes the Five
Kingdoms of life
Subdivisions of Zoology
Zoology may be divided into:
1) Systematic zoology
2) Morphology
3) Experimental zoology
4) Molecular Biology
Systematic Zoology
1) Taxonomy – study of the classification of animals
2)Ecology – study of the relationship of animals with their
environment
3) Zoogeography – study of the distribution of animals on
earth
4) Animal evolution – study of how existing kinds of
animals came into being.
Subdivisions of Zoology
Morphology: studies the structural aspects of the animal.
A) Anatomy: study structure by dissection
B) Comparative anatomy: studies various animal types to
establish origin and modification of body structure
C) Histology: study of tissues.
D) Cytology: study of the cell
E) Embryology: study of the development of the organism
F. Paleontology: study of past life as revealed by fossils
Experimental Zoology
A) Genetics: study of heredity
B) Experimental morphology
C) Embryology
Molecular Biology
Study of the ultimate or ultramicroscopic structure and function of
living matter
A) Biochemistry: study of the chemical make-up of living tissues
B) Genetics
C) Chemistry of macromolecules
Subdivisions of Zoology according to
animal subject of study
1) Entomology: study of insects
2) Helminthology: study of parasitic worms
3) Herpetology: study of reptiles
4) Ornithology: study of birds
5) Parasitology: study of parasitic organisms
6) Ichthyology: study of fishes
7) Mamology: study of mammals
Fundamental Properties of Life
Does Life Have Defining Properties?
What is life?
Fundamental Properties of Life
Does Life Have Defining Properties?
What is life?
No simple definition
The history of life shows extensive and
ongoing change called evolution
Answer must be based on the common
history of life on earth
8 General Properties of Living Systems
Chemical Uniqueness:
Living systems demonstrate a unique and complex molecular organization
Small molecules are assembled into macromolecules:
1. Nucleic Acids
2. Proteins
3. Carbohydrates
4. Lipids
8 General Properties of Living Systems
Although living systems are composed of the same
kinds of atoms obeying the same fundamental laws
of chemistry as nonliving matter, the organizational
structure of the macromolecules makes them
unique
8 General Properties of Living Systems
2. Complexity and Hierarchical Organization:
Living systems demonstrate a unique and complex hierarchical organization
In living systems there exists a hierarchy of levels that includes:
Macromolecules
Cells
Organisms
Populations
Species
8 General Properties of Living Systems
3. Reproduction:
Living systems can reproduce themselves
At each level of the biological hierarchy living forms
reproduce to generate others like themselves:
Genes replicated to produce new genes.
Cells divide producing new cells.
Organisms reproduce, sexually or asexually, to
produce new organisms
Populations may fragment to produce new
populations
Species may split to produce new species
8 General Properties of Living Systems
4. Possession of a Genetic Program:
A genetic program provides fidelity of inheritance
DNA: Long, linear, chain of nucleotides containing genetic
information
Sequence of nucleotide bases in DNA determines the order of
amino acids in proteins
Genetic Code: correspondence between base sequences in DNA
and the sequence of amino acids in a protein
8 General Properties of Living Systems
5. Metabolism:
Living organisms maintain themselves by acquiring nutrients from their
environments
Metabolic processes include:
Digestion
Energy production (Respiration)
Synthesis of required molecules and structures by
organisms
8 General Properties of Living Systems
Metabolism is often viewed as an interaction of
destructive (catabolic) and constructive (anabolic)
reactions
The most fundamental anabolic and catabolic
chemical processes used by living systems arose
early in the evolutionary history of life
8 General Properties of Living Systems
6. Development:
All organisms pass through a characteristic life
cycle
Development describes the characteristic
changes that an organism undergoes from its
origin to its final adult form
8 General Properties of Living Systems
7. Environmental Interaction:
All animals interact with their environments
Ecology: The study of organismal interaction
with an environment
All organisms respond to environmental stimuli
8 General Properties of Living Systems
8. Movement:
Living systems and their parts show precise and
controlled movements arising from within the
system
Living systems extract energy from their
environments permitting the initiation of
controlled movements
8 General Properties of Living Systems
Movements at the cellular level are required for:
Reproduction
Growth
Responses to stimuli
Development in multicellular organisms
On a larger scale:
Entire populations or species may disperse from one
geographic location to another over time
Principles of Science
The scientific method may be summarized as a series of steps:
1. Observation
2. Question
3. Hypothesis Formation
4. Empirical Test
Controlled Experiment
Includes at least 2 groups
Test Group
Control Group
5. Conclusions
Accept or reject your hypothesis
6. Publications
Principles of Science
Hypothesis:
Potential answers to questions being asked
Derived from prior observations of nature or from
theories based on such observations
Often constitute general statements about nature that
may explain a large number of diverse observations
If a hypothesis is very powerful in explaining a wide
variety of related phenomena, it attains the level of a
theory
Principles of Science
Powerful theories that guide extensive research are
called paradigms
The refutement and replacement of a paradigm is
known as a scientific revolution
Two major paradigms that guide zoological
research:
1. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
2. The Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance
Terms used to locate specific body
structures
1) Dorsal – refers to the back surface
2) Ventral – refers to the underside/belly part/front
3) Caudal – refers to the tail end (away from the brain)
4) Cephalic – refers to the area towards the head
5) Medial – near the midline
6) Lateral – near the side of the body
7) Superior – refers to the upper part/above
8) Inferior – towards the feet/below
Planes or Sections of the Body
1) Midsagittal or median plane – divides the body
into right and left halves
2)Coronal/frontal plane – divides the body into the
dorsal and ventral parts
3) Transverseplane or cross section – divides the
body into superior and inferior portions
The Germ Layers
Animals develop for m germ layers:
1) Ectoderm – gives rise to the outer covering of the body and
nervous tissue
2) Mesoderm – gives rise to muscles, skeleton and circulatory system
3) Endoderm – forms the lining of the digestive tract and other
digestive structures
(When only endoderm and ectoderm are present, the animal is
diploblastic. When all three are present, the animal is said to be
triploblastic.)
The origin of life
Religious explanation: Living things were created by God.
Theory of Spontaneous Generation (Abiogenesis): “Lower forms of
life could arise from non-living matter.”
Panspermia – Spores from outer space landed on earth and began to
develop.
Chemical Evolution – life developed through a series of spontaneous
cemcal reactions in the atmosphere and oceans early in earth history.
