notochord

[ noh-tuh-kawrd ]

noun

, Embryology.

1. a rodlike cord of cells that forms the chief axial supporting structure of the body of the lower chordates, as amphioxus and the cyclostomes, and of the embryos of the vertebrates.

notochord

/ ˈnəʊtəˌkɔːd /

noun

1. a fibrous longitudinal rod in all embryo and some adult chordate animals, immediately above the gut, that supports the body. It is replaced in adult vertebrates by the vertebral column

notochord

/ nō′tə-kôrd′ /

1. A flexible rodlike structure that forms the main support of the body in all chordates during some stage of their development. In vertebrates, the notochord develops into a true backbone in the embryonic phase. Primitive chordates, such as lancelets and tunicates, retain a notochord throughout their lives.

Derived Forms

• ˌnotoˈchordal, adjective

Other Words From

• noto·chordal adjective
• subno·to·chordal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of notochord¹

First recorded in 1840–50; noto- + chord ¹5 (in the sense of “a cordlike anatomical structure”)

Example Sentences

One of the major stations is the notochord, which produces a signal that plays a crucial role in organizing the developing spinal cord.

From Science Daily

Ogden's team captured images of the transport process happening in the cytonemes originating from the notochord.

From Science Daily

Victoria McCoy, a paleontologist now at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and her colleagues posited that a structure that was previously identified as the animal’s gut was a notochord—a primitive backbonelike structure that supported the Tully Monster as it swam.

From Scientific American

Cao and colleagues’ study provides at least two insights into the evolution of vertebrates from this common ancestor: one concerning the notochord, and the other concerning the CNS, which becomes especially complex in vertebrates.

From Nature

Cao et al. provide gene-expression evidence that the C. intestinalis notochord exhibits properties of both types.

From Nature