An embryologist is a scientist who studies embryos — the very early stage of a baby, or of any animal, before it is born or hatched. They look at how a tiny ball of cells becomes a body with a heart, a brain, hands. Some work in hospitals helping people have babies; some work in labs with animals or with cells in a dish. The ending -ist means “a person who…,” the same piece you meet in biologist or artist. So this is the person, not the subject. The subject — the scientific study itself — is embryology. You will hear the word in medicine, in fertility clinics, and in university science. It is a specialist job title, not an everyday word. Though actually, an embryologist is not the same as a midwife (who helps at birth) or a children’s doctor. Their window is earlier: the first days and weeks, often under a microscope.

胚胎學家