Amphioxus lacks a backbone, but like all creatures with backbones, it has a nerve cord that runs along its back. In addition, a rod runs the length of its body, parallel to the nerve cord. This rod, known as the notochord, is filled with a jelly-like substance and provides support for the body. As embryos, we have a notochord, too, but unlike Amphioxus’s, ours breaks up and ultimately becomes part of the disks that lie between our vertebrae. Rupture a disk and the jelly-like substance of what was once a notochord can wreak havoc when it pinches nerves or interferes with the ability of one
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