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

By the fourth week, mesoderm tissue located on either side of the notochord thickens and separates into a repeating series of block-like tissue structures, each of which is called a somite.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The fourth somite is that in which the mouth now opens, and which accordingly has its appendages converted into hemignathous mandibles.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

The prostomium is essentially a part or outgrowth of the first somite, and cannot be regarded as itself a somite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

Only one somite following the first post-oral or mandibular segment has its appendages modified as jaws.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

Merosome, mer′ō-sōm, n. one of the serial segments of which a body is composed, as the ring of a worm, a metamere, a somite.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various