pangenesis

American  

[pan-jen-uh-sis] / pænˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

Biology.

1. the theory that a reproductive cell contains gemmules or invisible germs that were derived from the individual cells from every part of the organism and that these gemmules are the bearers of hereditary attributes.

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pangenesis British  

/ pænˈdʒɛnɪsɪs, ˌpændʒəˈnɛtɪk /

noun

1. a former theory of heredity, that each body cell produces hereditary particles that circulate in the blood before collecting in the reproductive cells See also blastogenesis

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Other Word Forms

• pangenetic
  adjective
• pangenetically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of pangenesis

1868; pan- + genesis; term introduced by Charles Darwin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pangenesis

It was a name that protested its own origin: even though he had systematically demolished Darwin’s theory of pangenesis, de Vries paid his mentor a final homage.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Buried in the text of that review was the most powerful argument against pangenesis that Darwin would encounter in his lifetime.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

By means of these illustrations the hypothesis of pangenesis has, I hope, been rendered intelligible.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2) by Darwin, Charles

Weismann's theory is clear, simple and convenient, but incomplete; for, unlike Darwin's theory of pangenesis, it scarcely attempts any real explanation of the extremely complex potentialities possessed by the reproductive elements.

From Are the Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited? An Examination of the View Held by Spencer and Darwin by Ball, W. P. (William Platt)

This was the theory put forward by Darwin under the name of "pangenesis," and by others under other titles with which it is unnecessary to burden these pages.

From Science and Morals and Other Essays by Windle, Bertram Coghill Alan, Sir