somatic
Meaning of somatic: Somatic refers to the physical body, distinguishing bodily structures and symptoms from mental, emotional, or reproductive-cell processes.
Definition of somatic
Somatic means relating to the body, and the word is used in several related but distinct medical contexts. In general clinical use, somatic symptoms are physical symptoms, such as pain or fatigue, as distinguished from psychological or emotional symptoms, though the two can occur together and influence one another.
In neurology, the somatic nervous system refers to the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary movement and carries sensory information from the skin, muscles, and joints, in contrast to the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary functions. In genetics, a somatic cell is any body cell other than a reproductive egg or sperm cell, so a somatic mutation is a genetic change that occurs in body tissue and is not passed on to offspring.
Because the word carries several related meanings, the surrounding context typically clarifies which sense of somatic is intended.
Used in a sentence
Genetic testing of the tumor identified a somatic mutation that was not present in the patient's normal tissue.
Good to know
A somatic mutation arises in body tissue and is not passed to offspring, while a germline mutation occurs in egg or sperm cells and can be inherited.
Word origin
Where “somatic” comes from
From Greek soma, somat-, meaning "body."