A more thorough explanation:

CITOLOGY

Citology is the study of citations, especially in footnotes, and their impact on legal scholarship. It is also known as legal citology. A person who studies citology is called a legal citologist.

When a law student writes a research paper, they need to include citations to support their arguments. Citology examines how these citations are used and how they affect legal scholarship. For example, a legal citologist might analyze how a particular case has been cited in other legal writings and how those citations have influenced the development of legal doctrine.

Another example of citology is the study of how legal scholars cite each other's work. By examining patterns of citation, a legal citologist can gain insights into the evolution of legal ideas and the influence of particular scholars on the field.