The Stereognostic Sense in 19th-Century Muscular Perception

In 1883 Charles Bell originated the term “muscular sense,” and attributed the conception of place and position to a particular form of sensation located in the muscles. This sense was thought to be a primitive one, due directly to the “organic activity of the muscular contractions.” According to Puchelt, it was assigned the rôle in the perception of form and was called, at the time, the stereognostic sense.