noun
- Plural of anlage; the initial cell grouping or tissue from which an organ or structure develops in an embryo.
Usage: biology; embryology; technical
Examples
- The anlages of the limbs appear early in embryonic development.
- Researchers studied the anlages that would eventually form the nervous system.
- During gastrulation, various anlages begin to differentiate into specialized tissues.
- The cardiac anlages merge to form the primitive heart tube.