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. SYN: mesoblastic segment. [G. soma, body, + -ite]
- occipital s. one of the four most rostral somites; these become incorporated into the occipital region of the embryonic skull.
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so·mite 'sō-.mīt n one of the longitudinal series of segments into which the body of many animals (as articulate animals and vertebrates) is divided: METAMERE
so·mit·ic sō-'mit-ik adj
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n.
any of the paired segmented divisions of mesoderm that develop along the length of the early embryo. The somites differentiate into voluntary muscle, bones, connective tissue, and the deeper layers of the skin (see dermatome, myotome, sclerotome).
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so·mite (soґmīt) one of the paired, blocklike masses of mesoderm, arranged segmentally alongside the neural tube of the embryo, forming the vertebral column and segmental musculature; called also mesoblastic,mesodermic, primitive, primordial, or protovertebral segment.
Somites in a 22-day embryo.
Medical dictionary. 2011.