In the anatomy of an embryo, the somatopleure is a structure created during embryogenesis when the lateral plate mesoderm splits into two layers.

The outer (or somatic) layer becomes applied to the inner surface of the ectoderm, and with it (partially) forms the somatopleure.

[1] The combination of ectoderm and mesoderm, or somatopleure, forms the amnion, the chorion and the lateral body wall of the embryo.

Limb formation, from the somatic mesoderm, is induced by hox genes and the expression of other molecules through an epithelial-mesenchyme transition.

The somatopleure is known to serve as the matrix of the ventrolateral body wall and gives rise to connective tissue, tendons and the sternum.