<P> The ventral nerve cord (VNC) makes up a part of the central nervous system of some phyla of the bilaterians, particularly within the nematodes, annelids and the arthropods . It usually consists of cerebral ganglia anteriorly with the nerve cords running down the ventral ("belly", as opposed to back) plane of the organism . </P> <P> Ventral nerve cords from anterior to posterior (the thoracic and abdominal tagma in the arthropods) are made up of segmented ganglia that are connected by a tract of nerve fibers passing from one side to the other of the nerve cord called commissures (1). The complete system bears some likeness to a rope ladder . In some animals the bilateral ganglia are fused into a single large ganglion per segment . </P>

Where is the nerve cord located in an insect