Animalcule

An animalcule, in the historical biological theory of preformationism, was a microscopic complete version of an organism. Animalcules were held to have existed from the beginning of time and were the mechanism by which animals were believed to reproduce.

The 2080th issue of Transfiguration Today, published in 1926, featured an article entitled "Animalcules: The truth about preformationism."