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Leptocardia

(Science: zoology) The lowest class of vertebrata, including only the Amphioxus. The heart is represented only by a simple pulsating vessel. The blood is colourless; the brain, renal organs, and limbs are wanting, and the backbone is represented only by a simple, unsegmented notochord. See Amphioxus.

alternative forms: Leptocardii.

Origin: NL, fr. Gr. Small _ the heart.