the rounded, block-like organs of the body wall mesoderm in the back region of the embryo; may contain a transient cavity, the somitocoele.
Paired blocks of mesoderm cells along the vertebrate body axis that form during early vertebrate development and differentiate into dermal skin, bone and muscle.
segmented blocks of mesoderm lying either side of the notochord in vertebrate development
a blocklike segment of mesodermal (midlayer) tissue in the vertebrate embryo, giving rise to muscle, bone, etc. [WNW
Mesodermal structures formed during embryonic development that give rise to segmented body parts such as the muscles of the body wall.
Gr. somatikos - of or for the body]. Segmented mesodermal blocks located on either side of the developing spinal cord which arise from the dorsal mesoderm. Somites will differentiate into: the sclerotome which forms part of the axial skeleton, the myotome which forms muscle and the dermatome which forms the dermal layer of the skin.
Somites can best be seen in the most posterior sections. The dermatome is part of the skin and is indistinguishable. The sclerotome is forming the vertebrae, ribs, and sternum. The myotomes appear as light pink bodies in the sides of the body throughout the embryo.