Biology 2 - Comparative anatomy

Comparative anatomy

The comparison of structures of organisms in both fossils and living species

Homologous structure

Structures that are found in different species that often have a similar anatomical patter but different functions

Vestigial organ

Functionless structures found in organisms.

Vestigial organ examples

Wisdom teeth, ear muscles, coccyx, appendix

Comparative embryology

The comparison of embryos of different species.

Why do we compare embryos

We compare embryos because they show many features that may not be present in the adult form of a species

Genome

The complete DNA sequence of a organism

Comparative protiens

Scientists compare the proteins of different species, looking for differences in the amino acid sequence to determine evolutionary links

Differences in amino acids arising origin

Mutations