The 30 branches of Biology (and what they study)

Biology is one of the oldest sciences in history, which deals with studying living things. It is such a broad science that it is diversified into different branches or disciplines, each one specialized in an object or field of study.

In this article we will know the 30 most important branches of biology. Specifically, we will know what object of study each one of them has and its most outstanding characteristics.

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What is biology?

Etymologically, the term "biology" comes from the Greek and means "the science of life". Thus, biology is the science that studies living beings; specifically, it studies its origin, its structure, its characteristics, its vital processes and its evolution. In addition, it also studies how living beings relate and reproduce, as well as the interaction between living beings and their environment.

Biology is one of the oldest sciences in history, which has advanced greatly in knowledge. It is a science with such a wide field of study that it must diversify into different branches.

In this article we will know the 30 most important branches of biology; however, it should be noted that the greater the study and specialization of biology, the more branches emerge, and that there are some more (of recent appearance).

The 30 main branches of biological research

Although all the branches that we will talk about belong to the field of biology, each of these branches of biology is specialized in a specific field, and has a different object of study, as we will see below.

In reality, some of these branches of biology are considered sciences as such, and all of them are closely related to biology (or originate from it). Thus, the 30 most important branches of biology are:

1. Anatomy

This branch of biology deals with studying the internal structure of living things, as well as the organs they have. Includes animals, plants, and humans.

2. Environmental biology

Environmental biology studies the relationship between living beings, human beings and their environment.

3. Evolutionary biology

This branch has as object of study the changes that living beings experience throughout their evolutionary history; that is, what changes have they undergone and which are they currently undergoing.

On the other hand, it also focuses on ancestors and descendants that different groups of living beings have in common.

4. Marine biology

Marine biology studies those biological phenomena and processes that happen in the marine environment. In addition, it also studies what organisms inhabit it.

5. Cell biology (cytology)

Cytology studies cells; analyzes its structure and functions (on a non-molecular level).

6. Human biology

The next branch of biology is human biology, whose object of study is the human being. He studies it from the genetic and biological point of view; This means that it studies its genetic variability, its biotype, diseases that it can suffer, etc.

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7. Molecular biology

This branch of biology study the molecules that make up life, logically, at the molecular level. It analyzes their functions, their composition, their structure and the processes in which they are involved (protein synthesis, DNA replication, etc.).

8. Biotechnology

Biotechnology studies how we can apply technology to medicine, biology and agricultural or industrial processes, in order to improve their processes. For example, it would include the design of a pacemaker.

9. Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the branch of biology that is responsible for studying the chemical reactions that take place in living beings. It is a science halfway between biology and chemistry.

10. Ecology

The ecology study ecosystems; Specifically, it studies what living beings inhabit each one of them. It also studies the interrelationships that occur between them, such as between living beings and the environment in which they live.

11. Physiology

Physiology is another branch of biology, which studies those processes and phenomena that take place in living beings (for example, respiration, blood circulation ...). It is divided into two: animal physiology and plant physiology.

12. Botany

Botany studies plant organisms, and also classifies them.

13. epidemiology

Study the rate of incidence, prevalence and spread of diseases.

14. Pathophysiology

Another branch of biology, which in this case studies the dysfunctions that cause different diseases in living beings.

15. Ethology

Ethology studies the behavior of living beings (more specifically, from animals that are not human); it is related to psychology (in fact it is a subject of the career). For example, it would include the study of chimpanzee behavior.

16. Embryology

This branch of biology is currently a subdiscipline of genetics, focused on studying the processes that take place during the gestation period. Study the development and operation of these processes.

17. Genetics

Genetics studies genes; specifically, its expression or its inheritance. That is, how we inherit genes, how they are expressed, the genotype, the phenotype, etc.

18. Entomology

Entomology is another branch of biology, which in this case studies arthropod organisms (such as spiders).

19. Immunology

Immunology studies the immune system of every living being; specifically, it analyzes its functions, its structure and its composition.

20. Histology

Study the different tissues that make up living beings (their functions, composition, structure ...).

21. Mycology

This branch of biology studies fungi, mushrooms and pathogenic fungi of the human being (their structure and composition).

22. Microbiology

Microbiology studies microorganisms; it includes other more specialized disciplines, such as bacteriology (bacteria) and virology (viruses).

23. Taxonomy

Taxonomy is concerned not so much with studying, but rather with classify the different living beings. It is a branch that helps to simplify the study of them, establishing evolutionary relationships between the different species.

24. Zoology

Zoology is another branch of biology, charged with studying animals in general.

25. parasitology

Parasitology is the branch of biology that studies parasites; this includes different types: helminths, flukes, amoebas ...

26. Biophysics

Biophysics studies the physical state of living beings, or of living matter. It is the science that is halfway between biology and physics, since it uses a physical framework to find solutions to biological unknowns or to apply biological structures to industry.

27. Astrobiology

Astrobiology is another branch of biology, somewhat unique, since it deals with studying life outside planet earth and how it could come to differ from known life. For this branch of biology, the Extremophilic organisms, those capable of withstanding extreme environmental conditions.

28. Biogeography

Biogeography studies the distribution of life on the planet; that is why it is a branch closely related to the concept of the biosphere.

29. Bioengineering

Also known as biomedical or biological engineering, it is a fairly new branch of biology. It seeks the creation of new therapies through medical technology and engineering.

30. Chronobiology

Finally, another branch of biology is chronobiology, in charge of studying biological rhythms of living beings (specifically, it studies their characteristics, their evolution over time, etc.). Circadian rhythms, which control hormonal production on a daily basis, are an example of a chronobiology object of study.

Bibliographic references

• Curtis, Barnes, Schnek, Massarini. (2008). Biology. Editorial Médica Panamericana (8th Ed.).

• Sánchez, J. (2018). Branches of biology and what they study. Green ecology.

• Solomon, E.P., Berg, L. and Martín, D.W. (2014). Biology. Editorial Cengage Learning (9th Ed.).