Relating to or positioned above or upon the notochord (the embryonic rod structure that becomes the spine in vertebrate animals).
From Greek epi- (upon) + Latin chorda (string, from Greek chordē) + -al (adjective suffix). In embryology, the notochord is called the chorda, so epichordal means 'above the chorda'.
The notochord is one of nature's most fascinating evolutionary leftovers—all vertebrate embryos have one, but in humans it almost completely disappears, leaving only a tiny remnant in your spine called the nucleus pulposus. Knowing the epichordal region helps embryologists map out how you developed.
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