The paraxial mesoderm is the mesoderm located bilaterally adjacent to the notochord and neural tube[GO].
Comment:
[homology-note] "Presently, Cephalochordata, Urochordata, and Vertebrata are placed as subphyla of the phylum Chordata, in which the overall organization of embryonic tissues (dorsal hollow nerve cord, ventral digestive tract, axial notochord, and bilateral paraxial mesoderm) is largely conserved. In contrast, the echinoderms and hemichordates are sister groups of the chordates and they lack the notochord and paraxial mesoderm. Thus, the basic mesodermal organization of vertebrates must have appeared first in the common ancestor of the chordates.[well established][VHOG]" xsd:string {date_retrieved="2012-09-17", external_class="VHOG:0000114", ontology="VHOG", source="DOI:10.1002/dvdy.21177 Kusakabe R and Kuratani S. Evolutionary perspectives from development of mesodermal components in the lamprey. Developmental dynamics (2007)", source="http://bgee.unil.ch/"}