The epipharyngeal groove is a ciliated groove along the dorsal side of the inside of the pharynx in some plankton-feeding early chordates, such as Amphioxus. It helps to carry a stream of mucus with plankton stuck in it, through the pharynx into the gut to be digested.[1]

The subnotochordal rod or hypochord is a transient structure that appears ventral to the notochord in the heads of embryos of some vertebrates. Its appearance is stimulated by a chemical secreted by the notochord. The subnotochordal rod helps to stimulate development of the dorsal aorta.[2]

There is an opinion that these two structures are homologous.

References

  1. ^ Hyman, L.H.; Wake, M.H. (1992). Hyman's Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. University of Chicago Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780226870137. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  2. ^ O. Cleaver, D. W. Seufert and P. A. Krieg (25 January 2000). "Endoderm patterning by the notochord: development of the hypochord in Xenopus" (PDF). Development. 127 (4): 869–879. PMID 10648245. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
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