What is "somite"

Somite \So"mite\ (s[=o]"m[imac]t), n. [Gr. sw^ma body.] (Anat. & Zo["o]l.) One of the actual or ideal serial segments of which an animal, esp. an articulate or vertebrate, is composed; somatome; metamere. -- So*mit`ic, a.

n. 1 (context embryology English) One of the paired masses of mesoderm distributed along the sides of the neural tube that will eventually become dermis, skeletal muscle, or vertebrae. 2 (context anatomy English) A metamere, one of a series of segments, arranged longitudinally, of which some animals are composed.

n. one of a series of similar body segments into which some animals are divided longitudinally [syn: metamere]

A somite is a division of the body of an animal or embryo.

Somites are bilaterally paired blocks of paraxial mesoderm that form along the head-to-tail axis of the developing embryo in segmented animals. In vertebrates, somites subdivide into the sclerotomes, myotomes and dermatomes that give rise to the vertebrae of the vertebral column, rib cage, and part of the occipital bone; skeletal muscle, cartilage, tendons, and skin (of the back).

The word somite is also used in place of the word metamere. In this definition, the somite is a homologously paired structure in an animal body plan, such as is visible in annelids and arthropods.