noun Embryology. a local thickening of the endoderm in the embryo, that usually constitutes the primordium of a specific structure or organ.

What does placode mean?

Placode (or neural placode) refers in terms of radiology to a segment of non-neurulated neural tissue, which has had development frozen in the neural plate stage. A placode can be found in all open spinal dysraphisms and in some closed spinal dysraphisms.

What is a placode in biology?

Anatomical terminology. A neurogenic placode is an area of thickening of the epithelium in the embryonic head ectoderm layer that gives rise to neurons and other structures of the sensory nervous system. Placodes are embryonic structures that give rise to structures such as hair follicles, feathers and teeth.