somite

American  

[soh-mahyt] / ˈsoʊ maɪt /

noun

1. any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided; a metamere.

2. Embryology. one member of a series of paired segments into which the thickened dorsal zone of mesoderm is divided.

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somite British  

/ səʊˈmɪtɪk, ˈsəʊmaɪt, ˈsəʊmɪtəl /

noun

1. 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 animal

2. zoology another name for metamere

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Other Word Forms

• somital adjective
• somitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of somite

First recorded in 1865–70; som(a) ¹ + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Some believe that the vertebrate head has developed as a result of modification of the segmental elements of the trunk, such as the vertebrae and somites.

From Science Daily

Together, the current studies provide a remarkable demonstration that simple iPSC culture systems can be used for in-depth analysis of the oscillatory gene expression associated with somite segmentation at single-cell resolution.

From Nature

Non-somite mesoderm treated with Noggin generates many somites that form simultaneously, without cyclic expression of Notch-pathway genes, yet have normal size, shape, and fate.

From Science Magazine

The head of an insect carries usually four pairs of conspicuous appendages—feelers, mandibles and two pairs of maxillae, so that the presence of four primitive somites is immediately evident.

From Project Gutenberg

External Structure: Body.—As in all Arthropoda the body consists of a series of segments or somites which may be free or more or less coalesced together.

From Project Gutenberg