| somite | 1. <zoology> One of the actual or ideal serial segments of which an animal, especially. An articulate or vertebrate, is is composed; somatome; metamere. Somitic. 2. <embryology> Segmentally arranged blocks of mesoderm lying on either side of the notochord and neural tube during development of the vertebrate embryo. Somites are formed sequentially, starting at the head. Each somite will give rise to muscle from the myotome region), spinal column (from the sclerotome) and dermis (from dermatome). (04 Mar 1998) |
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| somite cavity | 1. Protrusion of muscle substance through a rent in its sheath. Origin: myo-+ G. Kele, hernia 2. The small cavity that appears in somites. Synonym: somite cavity. Origin: myo-+ G. Koilia, a cavity (05 Mar 2000) |
| somites | The paired, blocklike masses of mesoderm, arranged segmentally alongside the neural tube of the embryo, forming the vertebral column and segmental musculature. (12 Dec 1998) |