gemmule

1. A small gemma or similar structure, especially a reproductive structure in some sponges that remains dormant through the winter and later develops into a new individual.
2. A hypothetical particle of heredity postulated to be the mediating factor in the production of new cells in the theory of pangenesis.

[French, from Latin gemmula, diminutive of gemma, bud.]

The small bud that projects from the parent cell during gemmation.

1. a reproductive bud; the immediate product of gemmation.
2. any of the little spinelike processes on the dendrites of a nerve cell.

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