The Somatic Sensory System - Introduction touch - Mechanoreceptors of the Skin

9 important questions on The Somatic Sensory System - Introduction touch - Mechanoreceptors of the Skin

Where are mechanoreceptors located and what do they monitor?

How do they sense and what are they sensitive to?

They are present throughout the body.
They monitor: skin contact, pressure in the heart and blood vessels, stretching of digestive organs and bladder, force against teeth.  

At the heart of all mechanoreceptors are unmyelinated axon branches that are sensitive to stretching, bending, pressure, or vibration.

Name the six mechanoreceptors of the skin.

1 - Free nerve endings
2 - Meissner's corpuscle
3 - Merkel's disk
4 - Ruffini's ending
5 - Peritrichal end nerves
6 - Pacinian corpuscles

Where do the free nerve endings lay and what are there function?

They lay in the epidermis and their function is to registrate temperature and pain
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Where do the Meissner's corpuscle lay and what are they sensitive to?

Located in the ridges of glabrous skin (the raised part of the fingertips for example) and have high density in fingertips and lips.
They are sensitive to vibration and minimal touch

Where are Merkel's disk located and what are they sensitive to?

They are located in the epidermis and sensitive to persistent pressure on the skin.

Where do the Ruffini's ending lay and what are they sensitive to?

Are found both in hairy and glabrous skin. Is a pressure receptor and sensitive to constant pressure + movements of the joints.

What do the peritrichal end nerves sense and registrate?

They sense stroking the skin and registrate the movement of skin hair.

Where do Pacinian corposcules lay and what do they perceive?

Notably present in fingertips and other sensitive regions, they perceive vibration.

The mechanoreceptors of the skin all have unmyelinated axon terminals, and the membranes of these axons have mechanosensitive ion channels, what do they do?

Convert mechanical force into a change of ion current

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