Definition of "somite" [so•mite]

• See metamere. (noun)
• A segmental mass of mesoderm in the vertebrate embryo, occurring in pairs along the notochord and developing into muscles and vertebrae. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The genes affecting somite subdivision by the horizontal myoseptum might represent members of these signalling processes (Figure 5G)."
• "The somite pattern in the fish embryo is much less complex than the segment pattern of the Drosophila larva."
• "The first segment, which is almost half-way down in the embryonic shield of the amniote, is the foremost of all; from this first somite is formed the first cervical vertebra with its muscles and skeletal parts."