y_, renders the same word as "rudiment."

In general the word Anlage means beginning, plan, disposition to
anything, and hence involves the ideas of origin, organization and
tendency. Sanders defines the word in one of its meanings as: "The act
of planning or beginning anything; the act of laying the foundation of
any work intended to be carried on toward completion, in order that from
the beginning made, a definite thing may be developed or may develop
itself"; (_i.e._, to determine, in the sense of limiting to a particular
purpose or direction, hence determinant). "Also, the thing begun or
planned, considered as the basis and germ of the further development of
that which has already originated."

In its restricted use as applied to organisms it would mean "germ," in
the sense of embryonic starting point. More specifically, it is a
portion of plastic, organized substance, functioning as an individual
and containing potentially an elemental organ plus a formative power. In
Naegeli's own words, "There exists an essential difference between the
substance of a mature organism which does not possess the capability of
further development, and the substance of an egg, which does possess
this capability. By virtue of this difference the egg-substance is
characterized as the _Anlage_, or germ of the mature organism. All
characteristics of the adult condition are potentially contained in the
ovum."

Naegeli was not the first to assume the existence of a unit of
organization intermediate between the molecule and the cell. E. B.
Wilson, in his _The Cell in Inheritance and Development_, states the
case as follows:

"That the cell consists of more elementary units of
organization, is indicated by _a priori_ evidence so cogent as
to have driven many of the foremost leaders of biological
thought into the belief that such units must exist, whether or
not the microscope reveals them to view. The modern conception
of ultra-cellular units, ranking between the molecule and the
cell, was first definitely suggested by Bruecke in 1861.

"This idea of ultra-cellular units is common to most
morphologists and physiologists. We are compelled by the most
stringent evidence to admit that the ultimate basis of living
matter is not a single chemical substance, but a mixture of many
substances that are self-perpetuating without their loss of
specific character."[J]

[J] For a fuller discu