Growth & Evolution : Teratology

GROWTH AND EVOLUTION : TERATOLOGY

From the previous list of specific types of growth, I have identified Teratology to be the most interesting to me and also the most unusual and unseen in terms of being thoroughly explored by artists. There are no artists that I could discover who have based their work solely on teratology, it's sub-genres or related topics, so I thought this would be the perfect thing to investigate due to it not have been done extensively before. Throughout my research I will present images involving teratology, and related subjects, that will inspire my work and analyse how the artist has depicted growth and evolution in their artwork. 


Teratology: The study of congenital abnormalities of physiological development and formation. Or put into a simplified definition, Teratology is the study of abnormalities and defects found on plants and animals, such as extra limbs or organs. Most people mistakenly think that teratology is just the study of human congenital abnormalities, yet it is broad and as previously said it also studies abnormalities of plants and animals (all non-human forms that these abnormalities can affect). The kind of abnormalities that teratology investigates include Polycephaly, Conjoining, Supernumerary Body Parts, Chimeras and Hybrids.What can cause these abnormalities?

• Toxic substances: eg drugs, alcohol, nicotine intake during pregnancy, or exposure to environmental toxins.
• Vertically transmitted infection: infections or viruses transmitted directly from mother to embryo during developing stages in the womb which can alter or interrupt the growing/formation process.
• Lack of nutrients: eg lack of folic acid intake for mothers during a human pregnancy increases the risk of the baby developing Spina Bifida.)
• Physical restraint.
• Genetic disorders passed down through the genes.

One notable point about such abnormalities is that they are not only recent occurrences. There is evidence of congenital deformity in fossils that have been found, which prove scientifically significant allowing scientists to delve into evolutionary history of life's development processes. This shows scientists that congenital disorders have remained similar since the most recent common ancestor of dinosaurs and mammals. Examples include:

-T-rex fossil with block vertebra in it's spine, similar modern cases occur in human spines.

-A specimen of a deformed Hyphalosaurus with two heads, the earliest case of Polycephaly, dating back to 120 million years ago.

The next step of my research will be looking at the condition of Polycephaly, one of the most intriguing cases of congenital disorders and malfunctions in growth.