ectogenesis

[ek-toh-jen-uh-sis]

noun

Biology.

1. development outside the body, as of an embryo in an artificial environment.

ectogenesis

/ ɛkˈtɒdʒɪnəs, ˌɛktəʊˈdʒɛnəsɪs /

noun

1. the growth of an organism outside the body in which it would normally be found, such as the growth of an embryo outside the mother's body or the growth of bacteria outside the body of a host

Other Word Forms

• ectogenetic adjective
• ectogenically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ectogenesis¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1905–10; ecto-, -genesis

Example Sentences

Another team performing ectogenesis research at the University of Michigan also believes they could have devices ready for humans in a similar time frame.

Read more on New York Times

Early in a ewe’s pregnancy, the lamb fetus is removed from her body and placed in a synthetic uterine environment in which it receives nutrients and fluids, and continues to develop to term, a process researchers call ectogenesis.

Read more on New York Times

The most advanced research in ectogenesis is underway at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where sheep fetuses have been removed from their mothers’ bodies after 105 to 120 days — the equivalent, in a human, of 22 to 24 weeks — and placed in “biobags,” clear plastic containers filled with amniotic fluid.

Read more on New York Times

There were some novelists like Aldous Huxley who knew about science and ectogenesis and his own brother Julian Huxley was an eminent biologist.

Read more on The Verge

Ectogenesis, that is the gestation outside of a biological womb, sounds like science fiction.

Read more on Scientific American