somite

so·mite

S0558400 (sō′mīt′)n.1. Any of the homologous segments that compose the body of certain animals, such as earthworms and lobsters, and are arranged in a longitudinal series.2. A segmental mass of mesoderm in the vertebrate embryo, occurring in pairs along the notochord and developing into muscles and vertebrae.

[Greek sōma, body; see soma¹ + -ite.]

so·mit′ic (sō-mĭt′ĭk) adj.

somite

(ˈsəʊmaɪt) n1. (Zoology) embryol any of a series of dorsal paired segments of mesoderm occurring along the notochord in vertebrate embryos. It develops into muscle and bone in the adult animal2. (Zoology) zoology another name for metamere[C19: from Greek sōma a body] somital, somitic adj

so•mite

(ˈsoʊ maɪt)

n. 1. any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided; a metamere. 2. one of the thickened segments of tissue that occur in pairs along the back of the vertebrate embryo. [1865–70; < Greek sôm(a) body]

Thesaurus

Noun

somite - one of a series of similar body segments into which some animals are divided longitudinallymetameresegment - one of the parts into which something naturally divides; "a segment of an orange"

Somite

somite

[′sō‚mīt] (zoology) metamere

Somite

a paired metameric formation in the embryos of such invertebrates as annelids and insects and in the embryos of man and all other chordates. The middle germ layer, or mesoderm, is segmented into somites during embryonic development. The somites are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the body alongside the neural tube and the chorda. The entire mesoderm is segmented in invertebrates, whereas in man and other chordates only its dorsal section is segmented, with the remaining mesoderm forming lateral plates, or splanchnotomes. Segmentation begins from the anterior section of the body and gradually extends to the posterior section. In the process of development, each somite decomposes into a myotome, a sclerotome, and a dermatome, from which are formed, respectively, the truncal musculature, the axial skeleton (in fish, also the skeleton of the fins), and the connective-tissue portion of the skin and its derivatives.

T. A. DETLAF

somite

enUK

somite

[so´mīt] one of the paired segments along the neural tube of a vertebrate embryo, formed by transverse subdivision of the thickened mesoderm next to the midplane, that develop into the vertebral column and muscles of the body.

Somites in a 22-day embryo. From Dorland's, 2000.

so·mite

(sō'mīt), One of the paired, metamerically arranged cell masses formed in the early embryonic paraxial mesoderm; commencing in the third or early fourth week in the region of the hindbrain, they develop in a caudal direction typically until 42 pairs are formed. Synonym(s): mesoblastic segment [G. sōma, body, + -ite]

somite

(sō′mīt′)n.1. Any of the homologous segments that compose the body of certain animals, such as earthworms and lobsters, and are arranged in a longitudinal series.2. A segmental mass of mesoderm in the vertebrate embryo, occurring in pairs along the notochord and developing into muscles and vertebrae.

so·mit′ic (sō-mĭt′ĭk) adj.

so·mite

(sō'mīt) One of the paired, metamerically arranged cell masses formed in the early embryonic paraxial mesoderm; commencing in the third or early fourth week in the region of the hindbrain, they develop in a caudal direction until 42 pairs are formed; their presence is considered evidence that metameric segmentation is a vertebrate characteristic. [G. sōma, body, + -ite]

somite

metamere

a serial segment of the animal body. see METAMERIC SEGMENTATION.

so·mite

(sō'mīt) One of the paired, metamerically arranged cell masses formed in early embryonic paraxial mesoderm; develop in a caudal direction typically until 42 pairs are formed. [G. sōma, body, + -ite]

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metamere

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Synonyms for somite

noun one of a series of similar body segments into which some animals are divided longitudinally

Synonyms

Related Words