Neural plate ( NPL ; Stricker, 1860 ) : The medial differentiation of the embryonic vertebrate ectodermal layer, dorsal (Barclay, 1803) to the notochord, that goes on by the process of neurulation to form the neural tube (Baer, 1837); observed in macrodissected chick embryos by Malpighi (1673, Tab. I), and named thus by Stricker (1860, p. 474) based on toad embryo histology.