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

See Examples For:

somite

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

A brief indication of these facts is given by saying that the Onychophora are “deuterognathous”—that is to say, that the buccal somite carrying the mandibular hemignaths is the second of the whole series.

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

A similar history must have been slowly brought about when this second mandibulate somite in its turn became agnathous and passed in front of the mouth.

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

How many somites are there in a crayfish's body, if each somite bears only one pair of appendages, as many scientists believe?

From A Guide for the Study of Animals by Lucas, Frederic

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