Teratology

n. branch of biology dealing with developmental deformities, study of developmental deformities (Biology)

Teratology (from the Greek  (genitive ), meaning monster, or marvel and , meaning word, speech) as early as 17th century referred to a discourse on prodigies and marvels, of anything so extraordinary as to seem abnormal. In 19th century, it acquired a meaning closer related to biological deformities, mostly in the field of botany. Currently, its most instrumental meaning is that of the medical study of teratogenesis, congenital malformations or grossly deformed individuals. Monster is a pejorative term for a grossly deformed individual, although it is interesting to note that, etymologically, this word is related to demonstration, and used to simply mean something worth looking at, for being unusual, without necessarily being pejorative. Another term for this is dysmorphology, which literally means "the study of abnormal form."
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Noun
1. the branch of biology concerned with the development of malformations or serious deviations from the normal type of organism
(hypernym) embryology

(n.)
That branch of biological science which treats of monstrosities, malformations, or deviations from the normal type of structure, either in plants or animals.
  

(n.)
Affectation of sublimity; bombast.
  

Teratology [from Greek teratologia a telling of marvels from teras monster + logia discourse] Scientific term for a subject which in its broadest sense includes abnormal developments both in the fields of zoology and botany; in a more restricted sense, abnormalities in animal embryology. Technically, the old term monsters is reserved for those malformations with the most striking defects, many of them being hideous and unable to live postnatally. All such monsters or malformed births in human beings are due to the causative action of natural forces which, working in the proper environment, bring these forth because the mother for the time being has been under the sway of a current in the astral light. These births are more or less perfect or imperfect reproductions of germ-growths which are throwbacks to discarded evolutionary courses, attempting to reproduce what once were fairly common births in far past human history.