Morphogenetics

<p><strong>Morphogenesis</strong>&nbsp;(from the&nbsp;<a title="Greek language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language">Greek</a>&nbsp;<em>morph&ecirc;</em> shape and&nbsp;<em>genesis</em> creation, literally, "beginning of the shape") is the&nbsp;<a title="Biological process" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_process">biological process</a> that causes an&nbsp;<a title="Organism" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism">organism</a> to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of&nbsp;<a title="Developmental biology" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_biology">developmental biology</a> along with the control of&nbsp;<a title="Cell growth" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_growth">cell growth</a> and&nbsp;<a title="Cellular differentiation" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_differentiation">cellular differentiation</a>, unified in&nbsp;<a title="Evolutionary developmental biology" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_developmental_biology">evolutionary developmental biology</a>&nbsp;(evo-devo).</p>

<p>The process controls the organized spatial distribution of cells during the&nbsp;<a title="Developmental biology" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_biology">embryonic development</a> of an&nbsp;<a title="Organism" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism">organism</a>. Morphogenesis can take place also in a mature organism, in&nbsp;<a title="Cell culture" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_culture">cell culture</a> or inside&nbsp;<a class="mw-redirect" title="Tumor cell" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumor_cell">tumor cell</a> masses. Morphogenesis also describes the development of&nbsp;<a class="mw-redirect" title="Unicellular" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicellular">unicellular</a> life forms that do not have an embryonic stage in their life cycle, or describes the&nbsp;<a title="Evolution" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution">evolution</a> of a body structure within a&nbsp;<a title="Taxonomy (biology)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_(biology)">taxonomic group</a>.</p>

<p>Morphogenetic responses may be induced in organisms by&nbsp;<a title="Hormone" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormone">hormones</a>, by environmental chemicals ranging from substances produced by other organisms to&nbsp;<a title="Toxin" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxin">toxic chemicals</a> or&nbsp;<a class="mw-redirect" title="Radioactive isotope" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_isotope">radionuclides</a> released as pollutants, and other plants, or by mechanical stresses induced by spatial patterning of the cells.</p>