placode

[ plak-ohd ]

noun

, Embryology.

1. a local thickening of the endoderm in the embryo, that usually constitutes the primordium of a specific structure or organ.

Word History and Origins

Origin of placode¹

1905–10; < Greek plak- (stem of pláx ) something flat, tablet + -ode ¹

Example Sentences

"Either the placode was ancestral for everyone and then it was lost multiple times in independent lineages of reptile … or birds and mammals invented placodes independently," he said.

From Washington Post

The second possibility seemed particularly unlikely because research had revealed that the same exact gene, called EDA, controlled placode development in both groups.

From Washington Post

By analyzing the genomes of the naked bearded dragons, they narrowed down the culprit to a mutation in a single gene, called EDA, which is also known to disrupt placode development in birds and mammals.

From New York Times

The experiment suggests that EphB2 tells the placode which way is up.

From New York Times