aesth-, esth-, aesthe-, esthe-, aesthesio-, esthesio-, aesthesia-, -esthesia, -aesthetic, -esthetic, -aesthetical, -esthetical, -aesthetically, -esthetically

(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception)

psychoesthetics, psychoaesthetics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of the psychological aspects of sense perceptions: After completing his internship in dermatology, Dr. Peters decided to specialize in the field of psychoesthetics in order to better understand the psychological aspects of illnesses.
psychroesthesia, psychroaesthesia (s) (noun); psychroesthesias; psychroaesthesias (pl)
1. The perception of feeling cold even though the body is warm: Even though Jim was wearing a heavy winter coat and ear muffs, he was experiencing psychroesthesia and could not get warm.
2. A subjective sensation of coldness in a part of the body that feels warm to the touch: Irene experienced psychroesthesia in her feet even though she was wearing heavy socks.

A psychroesthesia ran up Lorna's back like a cold chill when she heard an eerie sound up in the attic.

rachianesthesia, rachianaesthesia (s) (noun); rachianesthesias; rachianaesthesias (pl)
A partial or the complete loss of sensation in the spine: After the epidural injection, Pamela developed rachianesthesia which made the operation on her leg less painful.
radiesthesia, radiaesthesia (s) (noun); radiesthesias; radiaesthesias (pl)
1. The detection of radiation by the body which is a process believed by some to be responsible for the operation of dowsing rods, pendulums, etc. as a means of locating buried substances, diagnosing illness, etc.: Allan was amazed by the results of the radiesthesia he witnessed when his uncle used the dowsing rods to detect water on his property.
2. Detecting and diagnosing a disease by the passing of a person's hands over a body: In addition to normal medical procedures, Dr. Small was also known to use radiesthesia to detect illnesses in his patients.
radiesthesic (adjective), more radiesthesic, most radiesthesic
Relating to the detection of, and diagnosing of, a disease by the passing of one's hands over a body: The radiesthesic skills of the renowned teacher, Mr. Cooke, were well-known and often discussed by his disciples.
rhinaesthesia, rhinesthesia (s) (noun), rhinaesthesias; rhinesthesias (pl)
1. The sense of smell: The rhinaesthesia of some members of the perfume industry is well-known and valued.
2. Etymology: from Greek, rhis, rhin-, "nose" + esthesia, "feeling, sensation".
rhinesthesic (adjective), more rhinesthesic, most rhinesthesic
Relating to the sense of smell via the nose: Harriet's well-developed rhinesthesic abilities made her invaluable to the coffee company she worked for.
seismesthesia, seismaesthesia, seisesthesia (s) (noun) (np pi)
1. A sense of shaking or vibration: The seismesthesia of the building was caused when the subway trains were running underneath it.
2. Tactile perception of vibrations in a liquid or aerial medium: When she was holding the thin glass, Kelly experienced the seisesthesia of the liquid when it moved.
3. The perception of vibrations; the awareness of vibrations or motions: Brian was very aware of the seismesthesia of the floor of his very old car while driving even though he was wearing heavy boots.
4. Etymology: from Greek seismos, "shaking, vibrating" + aisthesis, "feeling, sensation".
somaesthesis (s) (noun), somaestheses (pl)
1. The sensory awareness of bodily feelings including awareness of positions, skin senses, unconscious perceptions of movements and spatial orientations coming from stimuli within the body itself, including the internal organs: Gabriel lost his sense of somaesthesis when he participated in the space center experiment of weightlessness.
2. The sensory perceptions of bodily feelings like touch, pain, position of the limbs, etc.: Nancy used her sense of somaesthesis to orient herself while climbing the curved stairway.

Mr. Gibson, the biologist, said that somaesthesis is spread through all major parts of a mammal's body and of other vertebrates.

somaesthetic (adjective), more somaesthetic, most somaesthetic
A reference to sensory stimuli coming from the skin and internal organs and the perception of these stimuli: Shirley winced because of the somaesthetic discomfort of the shooting pain that she felt when she fell down and twisted her arm.
somatesthesia (s) (noun), somatesthesias (pl)
1. The sensation, or consciousness, of having a body: Narcissus was overcome with somatesthesia when he viewed himself in a clear pool of water.
2. A sensation, such as pressure, pain, or warmth, that can occur anywhere in the body: As he walked under the pine tree, Jason felt a distinct somatesthesia when the pine needles struck his face.
somatesthetic (adjective), more somatesthetic, most somatesthetic
Pertaining to the sensation, or consciousness, of having a body: The cat’s somatesthetic awareness of how much space its body requires is important when it is crawling through a small space.
somesthesia (s) (noun), somesthesias (pl)
Bodily sensation, or the conscious awareness of the body: Lillian’s somesthesia was such that whenever she passed a shiny window or a mirror she paused to admire herself.
somesthetic (adjective), more somesthetic, most somesthetic
Characterized by bodily sensations, or the conscious awareness of the body: The somesthetic feelings which Brian experienced included a tingling in his left hand.
spheresthesia (s) (noun), spheresthesias (pl)
An apparent sensation of a ball or globe that rises in the stomach area and progresses upward, finally being felt in the throat where it produces the feeling of strangulation as seen in hysteria: Mary, the heroine in the novel, was seized by spheresthesia as her fear mounted until she felt as if she were being gagged.

Arrow pointing to words and info sections The index of anesthesia history, Parts 1, 2, and 3.


Quiz If you would like to take self-scoring quizzes over some of the words in this thematic unit, then click on this Aesthesia, Esthesia Quizzes link, or the button, so you can see how much you know about some of these aesth-, esth- words.

Related-word units meaning feeling: senso-; pass-, pati-; patho-.