Viscerosomatic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to both the internal organs of the body and the somatic structures of the body wall together
2. Describing nerves or reflexes that involve both the visceral organs and the outer somatic tissues of the body
3. Pertaining jointly to the inner visceral organs and the surrounding somatic body wall in physiology

Etymology: Viscerosomatic is a plain technical compound, built from "viscero-", a combining form from Latin "viscus" (plural "viscera," meaning the internal organs of the body), and "somatic," from Greek "sōmatikos," relating to the body. The two parts join to describe something that concerns both the internal organs and the body's outer structure, most often the nerves and tissues involved in sensation and movement. Physicians and anatomists use it in this sense, and the term is most often met in discussions of the nervous system and of pain that arises from deep organs.