pangenesis

(pan jenə sis)

noun

a former hypothesis of heredity in which each unit or cell of the body throws off very minute particles () into the blood which circulate freely, undergo division, and are collected in the reproductive cells as the units of hereditary transmission

Origin: ModL: see pan- & -genesis

Related Forms:

See pangenesis in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
A theory of heredity proposed by Charles Darwin in which gemmules containing hereditary information from every part of the body coalesce in the gonads and are incorporated into the reproductive cells.

Related Forms:

  • panˌge·netˈic (-jə-nĕtˈĭk) adjective
  • panˌge·netˈi·cal·ly adverb
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