Relating to development or direction from the head toward the tail or lower body.
From Greek 'kephale' (head) + Latin 'cauda' (tail) + '-al' (relating to). Used in developmental biology to describe growth patterns.
Babies develop cephalocaudally—their heads and nervous systems develop first, which is why newborns have disproportionately huge heads and move their heads before their feet, a pattern shared across almost all vertebrates.
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