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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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of somite

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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 genital apertures are placed on the first somite of the second tagma or mesosoma.

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

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

P, Protocerebrum or foremost cerebral mass belonging to the first somite.

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

D, Deuterocerebrum, consisting of ganglion cells belonging to the second or mandibular somite.

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

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