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

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

If we reject pangenesis, it becomes difficult to see how use-inheritance can be possible.

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)

But I shall have to recur, in the chapter on pangenesis, to the abnormal multiplication of organs, and likewise to their occasional transposition.

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

Next, as to certain patent and notorious facts: On the hypothesis of pangenesis, no creature can develop an organ unless it possesses the component gemmules which serve for its formation.

From On the Genesis of Species by Mivart, St. George