Biology: the term that means? Which scientist first proposed the use of the term "biology"?

Biology is a term that is called the whole system of sciences. She generally studies living beings, as well as their interaction with the surrounding world. Biology explores all aspects of the life of any living organism, including evolution, forms of behavior, its origin, reproduction and growth.

When did the term "biology" come about? As a separate science, it began to emerge only at the beginning of the XIX century. And who introduced the term "biology"? You will learn more about this later.

Antiquity and origin of the first biological disciplines

Before you know when the term "biology" appeared, you should talk a little about the birth of this discipline as such. It is believed that it was the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle who first laid the foundations of biological disciplines - the foundation of such sciences as zoology and botany. Archaeologists have found a mass of material artifacts, which recorded the works of Aristotle on animals. He was the first to bring the connection between certain species of animals. It was Aristotle who noticed that all cloven-hoofed animals chew gum.

No less important scientist in the field of biology is Dioscorides, who in his entire life compiled a large list of medicinal plants and described their action (a total of about six hundred plants).

Another ancient philosopher, Theophrastus, wrote a huge work called "Studies on Plants." In it, he developed the thoughts of Aristotle, but only about plants and their properties.

Middle Ages

Who introduced the term "biology" and when did it happen? It is still too early to talk about this, because after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, many knowledge, including about medicine, biology, was lost. Arabs in the early Middle Ages seize a vast territory and in their hands fall the works of Aristotle - after they will be translated into Arabic.

In the VIII century, Arab researchers in the field of botany and anatomy have made great strides. In zoology, the great success was achieved by the Arab writer Al Jahis, who was the first to advance the theory of evolution, and he was also offered the theory of food chains.

Al-Danawari became the founder of the botany of the Arab world. Like Aristotle, Al Danavari described about six hundred species of plants, as well as their development and the growth phases of each of them.

An incredibly great contribution to the development of biology and, in particular, medicine was made by the Arabian doctor Aviatsenna. He wrote a famous book "The Canon of Medical Science", which remained in the arsenal of European doctors until the 18th century inclusive. It was Aviatsenna who presented mankind with pharmacology and described the first clinical studies, which subsequently seriously influenced the study of human anatomy and ways of fighting disease.

Ibn Zuhr studied the nature of such a disease as scabies, and performed surgical operations, as well as the first clinical experiments on animals. In medieval Europe, medicine and the study of such sciences as botany, zoology, was not prevalent, primarily due to the influence of the Catholic Church.

Renaissance and interest in medicine, biology

In the Renaissance, the meaning of the term "biology" was not yet known. But the position of the church has greatly weakened, and scientists, most of them in Italy, began to show interest in botany, zoology, anatomy and medicine - they began to study the writings of scientific figures of Antiquity.

Already in the XVI century, the Dutch scientist Vesalius laid the foundation of modern anatomy. To write his works he personally opened human bodies and examined the structure of internal organs.

Researchers returned to a dense study of plants, that is, to botany, as they understood that many herbs have rather strong healing properties and help in curing diseases.

In the 16th century, the description of animals and the way of their life turned into a whole scientific direction in the study of the entire known animal world.

No less important contribution to the development of biology was made by Leonardo da Vinci, Paracelsus, who continued to study anatomy and pharmacology.

In the XVII century, scientist Kaspar Baugin described all the plants known at that time in Europe - more than six thousand species. Ulvi Harvey, conducting an autopsy of animals, made a number of important discoveries that concern blood circulation.

In the XVII century a new biological discipline was born, related to the invention of the microscope. Thanks to his discovery, people learned about the existence of microscopic unicellular organisms, which caused a resonance in society. At the same time, for the first time, human spermatozoa were studied.

What scientist used the term "biology"?

At the beginning of the XIX century, biological disciplines developed into a full-fledged science, which was recognized by the scientific community.

So what scientist suggested using the term "biology"? When did it happen?

The term "biology" was proposed by the German anatomist and physiologist Friedrich Burdach, who specialized in the study of the human brain. This event took place in 1800.

Also, it is worth saying that biology is a term that was proposed by two more scientists who did not know about Burdach's proposal. In 1802 Gottfried Treviranus and Jean Baptiste Lamarque announced this in parallel. The definition of the term "biology" became known to all scientists working in this direction.

Biology in the XIX century

Now that we know who suggested the term "biology", we should talk about its further development. One of the key works of the XIX century was the publication of the work of Charles Darwin "The Origin of Species." At the same time, scientists discovered fundamental differences between the inanimate and living worlds. Doctors and scientists continued to experiment on animals, which gave a tremendous impetus to understanding the work of internal organs.

Biology in the XX century

Pharmaceuticals and other disciplines fundamentally changed the discovery of Mendeleyev - he created the so-called periodic table of Mendeleyev. After the discovery of Mendeleev, scientists discovered chromosomes as carriers of genetic information.

Genetics originated in the 1920s. Approximately in the same period, the study of vitamins and their use began. In the late 1960s, the DNA code was decoded, which led to the birth of a biological discipline, such as genetic engineering. She is currently engaged in active study of human and animal genes, and is also looking for ways to change them through unit mutations.

The development of biology in the 21st century

Many problems remained unresolved in the 21st century. One of the most important is the problem of the origin of life on Earth. Also, the researchers did not agree on the question of how the triplet code arose.

Very actively biologists and genetics are working on the issue of aging. Scientists are trying to understand why organisms grow old, and what causes the aging process. This problem is called one of the greatest mysteries of mankind, the solution of which will forever change the world.

No less active researchers, and especially botanists, are working on the problem of the origin of life on other planets. Such studies will play a large role in the exploration of outer space and other planets.

Principles of Biology

In total, there are only five fundamental principles. They unite absolutely all biological disciplines in one single science about living organisms, whose name is biology. The term includes the following principles:

• Evolution is the natural process of the development of any living organism, during which the genetic code of the organism changes.
• Energy is an indispensable attribute of any living organism. In short, the influx of energy, and only a constant, ensures the survival of the organism.
• Cell theory (the cell is the basic unit of a living being). All cells of the body originate from a single egg. Their multiplication is due to the division of one cell into two.
• Gene theory (a small part of a DNA molecule that is responsible for storing and transferring genetic information from one generation to another).
• Homeostasis is a process of self-regulation of an organism and its restoration to the norms of balance.

Biological disciplines

At the moment, biology is a term that includes several dozen disciplines, each of which has a narrow specialization, but all the above mentioned principles of this science apply to all of them.

Among the most popular disciplines are:

• Anatomy is a discipline that studies the structure of multicellular organisms, the structure, and also the functions of internal organs.
• Botany - a discipline that deals with the study of plants, both multicellular and unicellular.
• Virology is an important section of microbiology, which deals with the study and control of dangerous for humans, as well as for animals, viruses. At the moment, virology is a weapon for fighting against viruses, and therefore saving millions of people.
• Genetics and genetic engineering are sciences that study the patterns of heredity and the variability of organisms. The latter is involved in the manipulation of genes, which makes it possible to modify organisms and even create new ones.
• Zoology is a science that deals with the study of the animal world or, more simply, the fauna.
• Ecology is a science that studies the interaction of any living organism with other organisms, as well as their interaction with the surrounding world.

Now you know which scientist suggested the term "biology", which way of development this science has passed. We hope that the information was useful.