What is "somatic nervous system"

n. The part of the peripheral nervous system that transmits signals from central nervous system to skeletal muscles, and from receptors of external stimuli thereby mediating sight, hearing and touch.

The somatic nervous system (SoNS or voluntary nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system associated with skeletal muscle voluntary control of body movements. The SoNS consists of afferent nerves and efferent nerves. Afferent nerves are responsible for relaying sensation from the body to the central nervous system (CNS); efferent nerves are responsible for sending out commands from the CNS to the body, stimulating muscle contraction; they include all the non-sensory neurons connected with skeletal muscles and skin. The a- of afferent and the e- of efferent correspond to the prefixes ad- (to, toward) and ex- (out of).