in embryology, one of a longitudinal series of blocklike segments into which the mesoderm, the middle layer of tissue, on either side of the embryonic spine becomes divided. Collectively, the somites constitute the vertebral plate. Out of the somites arise the sclerotome, forerunner of the bodies and neural arches of the vertebrae; the dermatome, precursor of the connective tissue of the skin; and the myotome, or primitive muscle, from which the major muscles of vertebrates are derived. The term somite is also used more generally to refer to a body segment, or metamere, of a segmented animal.