Wikipedia
The floor plate is a structure integral to the developing nervous system of vertebrate organisms. Located on the ventral midline of the embryonic neural tube, the floor plate is a specialized glial structure that spans the anteroposterior axis from the midbrain to the tail regions. It has been shown that the floor plate is conserved among vertebrates with homologous structures in invertebrates such as the fruit fly Drosophila and the nematode C. elegans. Functionally, the structure serves as an organizer to ventralize tissues in the embryo as well as to guide neuronal positioning and differentiation along the dorsoventral axis of the neural tube.
Usage examples of "floor plate".
He crawled painfully to the floor plate he had removed and looked past the motor housings.
I scrutinized the space in the alcove where she'd kept her bed, checked the metal floor plate in the living room on which the wood-burning stove had rested.
Mist curled from under the edge of the floor plate, enveloped his legs, rose steadily.
The spare tire was not mounted where it should have been: flat on the trunk floor against the right fender well and held in place with a bolt passing through the floor plate.
I toyed with the idea of going in the secret room and stepping on the floor plate with a twist, which would assemble the whole crew in the hangar.
One armed guard peeled up the hot-edged floor plate and pointed down at him.
He moved through the air like an uncouth fish, banking off stanchion, floor plate, and overhead as suited his convenience.
She beckoned to Jonathan to help her lift one clear of the scoot's floor plate.