in reference to sensations that can occur anywhere on the body, by 1945, from somato- "body" + sensory. An earlier word in a similar sense was somaesthetic (1897).
Entries linking to somatosensory
somato-
before vowels somat-, word-forming element used in the sciences from mid-19c. and meaning "the body of an organism," from combining form of Greek sōma (genitive sōmatos) "the body, a human body dead or living, body as opposed to spirit; material substance; mass; a person, human being; the whole body or mass of anything," a word of uncertain origin.
According to Watkins perhaps originally "compactness, swelling," and from PIE root *teue- "to swell," but Beekes finds for it "no convincing etymology." In Homer sōma is typically "dead body," as opposed to demas "living body, bodily shape, outward appearance;" in philosophy it is opposed to psykhē "the soul, mind, spirit." The Greek word also was used generally of material substances and physical masses.
sensory adj.
"of or pertaining to sense or sensation, conveying sensation," 1749, from Latin sensorius, from sensus, past participle of sentire "to perceive, feel" (see sense (n.)).