scopeofzoology

Introduction
We are living organisms, vitally interested in our own nature and in the living things which
surround us. The study of life is the literal meaning of the term 'biology', and 'zoology' is
taken as being synonymous with 'animal biology'. The study of animal life is a natural human
activity. for man himself and can be fully understood only in his setting within the entire range
of animal life. Also, whether the object of study is a jelly-fish, an elephant or a dinosaur, any
progress in understanding one sheds light on all.
Zoology is primarily concerned with defining the nature of each kind of animal and its
interactions with plants and microbes, as well as with other animals. It is concerned with the
relationship of animals and communities of animals to the environment. It also deals with the
past history of animals in conjunction with the history of Earth. In addition, it is concerned
with the origins and development of each individual animal. Modern zoology has no strict
limits in that animals may be studied in all their manifestations from the 'invisible' to the
'gigantic'; as individuals and as infinitely complex webs of interrelated forms; as life now
present and as life of the past. It includes a study of the properties of matter because all
living things are made up of Earth's common chemical elements. At this level of organisation,
the physics and chemistry of individual cells can be investigated and taught without regard for
the boundaries between the plant and animal kingdoms. This is the true province of 'biology'.
At a higher level, however, whole organisms and their component tissues, botany and
zoology are at least as different as physics and chemistry. However, no matter how difficult it
may be to define in practice, modern zoology ranges from the analytical study of cells, to the
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