Health Boards


Encyclopedia


My Profile

Health Boad


Health Jobs


Shopping


Health Tools

analogy

Two anatomical structures or behavioral traits within different and unrelated organisms which perform the same functions in each organism but which did not originate from an ancestral structure or trait that the organisms' ancestors had in common. Instead, the structures or traits arose separately and then later evolved to perform the same function (or similar functions). See also convergent evolution. Compare homology.


Selected analogy links:

© 1997-2006 Healthboard.com.   Healthboard.com is a purely informational website, and should not be used as a substitute for professional legal, medical or technical advice.