pangenesis

Noun.  A mechanism for heredity proposed by Charles Darwin long before the true mechanism was discovered, according to which the cells of the body shed "gemmules" which collect in the reproductive organs prior to fertilization.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.