Definition of: pangenesis

(pan·jen′ə·sis) noun Biol.
The theory, advanced by Charles Darwin, that all the cells of an organism throw off very minute gemmules, pangens, which circulate through the body and develop buds or germ cells which have the power of reproduction and contain the units of heredity which they transmit from parent to offspring.
—pan′ge·net′ic (-jə·net′ik) adjective