Chapter II 

 SUMMARY 



7. Summary of the Hypothesis of Intracellular 



Pangenesis 

 The view of Darwin (apart from the hypothesis of 

 the transportation of gemmules through the entire body), 

 that the individual hereditary qualities are dependent on 

 individual material bearers in the living substance of 

 cells, I call pangenesis. These bearers I call pangens. 

 Every hereditary character, no matter in how many spe- 

 cies it may be found, has its special kind of pangen. In 

 every organism many such kinds of pangens are assem- 

 bled, and, the higher the differentiation that has been 

 reached, the more there are. 



The hypothesis that all living protoplasm is built 

 up of pangens, I call intracellular pangenesis. In the 

 nucleus every kind of pangen of the given individual 

 is represented; the remaining protoplasm in every cell 

 contains chiefly only those that are to become active in it. 

 This hypothesis leads to the following conclusions. With 

 the exception of those kinds of pangens that become di- 

 rectly active in the nucleus, as for example those that 

 dominate nuclear division, all the others have to leave the 

 nucleus in order to become active. But most of the pan- 

 gens of every sort remain in the nuclei, where they multi- 

 ply, partly for the purpose of nuclear division, partly in 

 order to pass on to the protoplasm. This delivery always 

 involves only the kinds of pangens that have to begin to 



