Plain English Meaning

It is the way your body feels position and movement through pressure on your seat, tension in your muscles, and the pull on your joints. In flight, it tells you things like 'I feel pushed down' or 'I feel tilted.'

Full Definition

The body's network of sensors in the skin, muscles, joints, and tendons that detect pressure, stretch, position, and movement, giving the brain a sense of body orientation often referred to as the 'seat of the pants' sense.

Context Anchor

Encountered in discussions of spatial disorientation, especially when explaining why a pilot cannot safely rely on body sensations alone in clouds or at night.

Derivation

From Latin 'soma' meaning body, plus 'sensory.' Literally 'body-sensing.' The name itself signals that this is orientation information coming from the body rather than from the eyes or .