leptocardia Meaning, Definition & Usage

Lep`to*car"di*a noun plural
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. small + the heart.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) The lowest class of Vertebrata, including only the Amphioxus. The heart is represented only by a simple pulsating vessel. The blood is colorless; the brain, renal organs, and limbs are wanting, and the backbone is represented only by a simple, unsegmented notochord. See Amphioxus. Written also Leptocardii.

Webster 1913