notochordn.
/ˈnəʊtəkɔːd/, U.S. /ˈnoʊdəˌkɔrd/ Zoology.
An elastic, cartilaginous band or rod forming the primitive basis of the spinal column, present in all embryonic chordates and persisting in some adult forms.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > embryo parts > [noun] > spinal column
keel1674
carina1704
notochord1848
chorda dorsalis1873
1848 R. Owen On Archetype & Homologies Vertebr. Skeleton 86 An extremely delicate fibrous band,..inclosed by a membranous sheath, is the primitive basis, called ‘notochord’.
1870 G. Rolleston Forms Animal Life p. lxix A cylindrical fibro-cartilaginous sheath surrounding the cylindrical notochord.
1884 Amer. Naturalist 18 858 This seems to be a more truly vertebrate feature than even the possession of a notocord.
1939 T. L. Green Pract. Animal Biol. i. 95 Notochord extending throughout the length of the animal, nerve cord (spinal cord) lying above the notochord with the anterior eye-spot.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) xv. 216 In Amphioxus we find a true endoskeleton of which the chief structure is the notochord.
1994 N.Y. Times 11 Jan. c13/4 The zones of information were thought to be located in two embryonic structures, one called the notochord, a stiff rod that serves as the developing creature's temporary backbone.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1848