homunculus

homunculus definition - medical

ho·mun·cu·lus (hō-mŭngˈkyə-ləs, hə-)

noun pl. ho·mun·cu·li (-līˌ)
  1. A diminutive human.
  2. A miniature, fully formed individual which adherents of the early biological theory of preformation believed to be present in the sperm cell.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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