An'alogue

An'alogue, a technical term in Biology, used to denote physiological, independent of morphological resemblance. Organs are analogous to one another, or are analogues, when they perform the same function, though they may be altogether different in structure; as the wings of a bird, and the wings of an insect. Organs, again, are homologous, or homologues, when they are constructed on the same plan, undergo a similar development, and bear the same relative position, and this independent of either form or function. Thus, the arms of a man and the wings of a bird are homologues of one another, while the wing of a bird and the wing of a bat are both analogous and homologous. See HOMOLOGY, and MORPHOLOGY.