Learn English – difference in meaning: morphology / structure

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What is the difference in meaning between "morphology" and "structure"?

Coming from a physics background and being a native German speaker, I tend to use "structure" when describing an internal configuration, and to use "morphology" when describing an overall outer appearance.

I wonder if this distinction is correct? I would like to learn about the difference between the two terms in general, in order to decide when to use which.

Best Answer

Morphology in the most general sense means the "study of shape". In most fields and in most situations it's basically the same as studying the structure of something, but occasionally there will be something which has a shape but no apparent structure. For example, here are two galaxies. You can talk about the morphology of both, but only the second has much structure to talk about:

An elliptical galaxy A spiral galaxy