notochord

1 9.9

A flexible rod in a young animal before it is born or hatched that supports its body

noun
/ˈnoʊtəˌkɔrd/

Specialized

: notocorda

Before vertebrates developed a bony spine, a notochord was present as the main support for their bodies.

Examples

More remarkably, tunicates have larvae that resemble tadpoles, complete with a dorsal nerve cord and a rudimentary backbone called a notochord.

Academic text (1992)
OK, we'll get to notochord and neural tube very soon.
Now, a lot of these processes depend on molecules that come from the notochord that induce these changes.
Perhaps the chordate crowd with their notochords, segmented muscles and big Bony skeletons.
We have the somite seal, the notochord, the endoderm, the ectoderm, and two primordia of the dorsal ERTA.
The notochord penetrated the brain case to the level of the pituitary gland, and a series of extrascapular dermal shoulder girdle bones were attached to the dermal head shield.

Academic text (2003)
In the embryos of vertebrates, the notochord acts as a flexible rod that provides essential support during early development.
Many primitive chordates possess a notochord that serves as the primary support structure of their bodies.

Surface Forms

notochord singular

notochords plural

Morphology

notochord = chord (opaque) = noto + chord + noto

The combining form 'noto-' (meaning 'back') is a specialist biological prefix unfamiliar to average learners, and 'chord' can mislead because its common sense is musical rather than 'string'.

Etymology

Notochord comes from the Greek parts noto- meaning 'back' and chord meaning 'string' or 'cord'. So a notochord is literally a 'back cord', a flexible 'string' along an embryo's back that gives support until the backbone forms.