 The somatosensory system comprises a diverse range of receptors and processing centers to produce the perception of touch, temperature, proprioception, and nociception.Receptors are located throughout the body including the skin, epithelia, internal organs, skeletal muscles, bones, and joints.The cutaneous receptors of the skin project in an orderly fashion to the spinal cord, and from there, via different afferent pathways (dorsal column-medial lemniscus tract and spinothalamic tract), to the ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex.