sclerotome

Introduction

Part of a somite that eventually differentiates into bone forming:

• the vertebrae
• the vertebral arches
• most of the skull Mechanism:
  • the caudal 1/2 of one sclerotome fuses with the cranial 1/2 of the adjacent one to form each vertebrae
  • from their initial location within the somite, sclerotome cells migrate medially towards the notochord
  • these cells meet the sclerotome cells from the contrlateral side to form the vertebral body
  • from the vertebral body, sclerotome cells move dorsally & surround the developing spinal cord, forming the vertebra arches

More general terms

• embryonic structure