Somatosensation: End Organs for Tactile Sensation

Terminal innervation of the male genitalia, cutaneous sensory receptors of the male foreskin

“…FNE and similar corpuscular receptors, including Pacinian and Ruffini corpuscles, are found in many epidermal sites (Boulais and Misery, ; Irmak, ; Martin‐Alguacil et al, ). These structures can work in concert with epidermal cells: stimulus energy might be transmitted through different cells within the skin.…”

“…Unencapsulated nerve endings can terminate as free branched fibers in the papillary dermis or in the epithelial layers of the skin. In hairy skin areas, they can end in the dermis as FNEs or surround a hair follicle and attach to its outer root sheath (Martin‐Alguacil et al, ). In this position they are particularly sensitive to hair movement and serve as mechanoreceptors.…”

“…Sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system send many primary afferent fibers to the skin. They pass through the dermis and penetrate the basement membrane to innervate epidermal cells or remain as FNEs (Boulais and Misery, ; Martin‐Alguacil et al, ). In glabrous skin the axon reaches the epithelial layers, loses its Schwann cell sheath, and forms numerous unmyelinated branches throughout the granulous layer.…”

“…They appear as thin fibers, mostly varicose, branched or single‐processed, straight or bent. They are also typically identified in all the strata basale, spinosum and granulosum of the epidermis (Martin‐Alguacil et al, ). Our study was consistent with these findings, demonstrating FNEs in the papillary dermis and all the strata basale, spinosum and granulosum of the epidermis.…”

“…PC are large ovoid structures found in the deeper dermis and hypodermis and are composed of a myelinated nerve ending surrounded by a capsule. The axon is covered by a series of tightly packed, flattened Schwann cell lamellae, and the corpuscles respond to pressure and vibration through the displacement of those lamellae (Martin‐Alguacil et al, ). The PC is the most widely‐distributed type of capsulated receptor and is also the largest, visible with the naked eye (1–2 mm).…”