A European Informational Website
learn more
A somatic cell is generally taken to mean any cell forming the body of an organism: the word "somatic" is derived from the Greek word sōma (σώμα), meaning "body". Somatic cells, by definition, are not germline cells. In mammals, germline cells are the spermatozoa and ova (also known as "gametes") which fuse during fertilization to produce a cell called a zygote, from which the entire mammalian embryo develops. Every other cell type in the mammalian body—apart from the sperm and ova, the cells from which they are made (gametocytes) and undifferentiated stem cells—is a somatic cell: internal organs, skin, bones, blood, and connective tissue are all made up of somatic cells.