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Concept
Pacinian corpuscle
Summary
The Pacinian corpuscle, lamellar corpuscle or Vater-Pacini corpuscle is one of the four major types of mechanoreceptors (specialized nerve ending with adventitious tissue for mechanical sensation) found in mammalian skin. This type of mechanoreceptor is found in both hairy, and hairless skin, viscera, joints, and attached to periosteum of bone, primarily responsible for sensitivity to vibration. Few of them are also sensitive to quasi-static or low frequency pressure stimulus. Most of them respond only to sudden disturbances and are especially sensitive to vibration of few hundreds of Hz. The vibrational role may be used for detecting surface texture, e.g., rough vs. smooth. Most of the Pacinian corpuscles act as rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors. Groups of corpuscles respond to pressure changes, e.g. on grasping or releasing an object.
Pacinian corpuscles are larger and fewer in number than
Meissner's corpuscle, Merkel cells and Ruffini's corpuscles.
The Pacinian corpuscle is approximately oval-cylindrical-shaped and 1 mm in length. The entire corpuscle is wrapped by a layer of connective tissue. Its capsule consists of 20 to 60 concentric lamellae (hence the alternative lamellar corpuscle) including fibroblasts and fibrous connective tissue (mainly Type IV and Type II collagen network), separated by gelatinous material, more than 92% of which is water. It presents a whorled pattern on micrographs.
Pacinian corpuscles are rapidly adapting (phasic) receptors that detect gross pressure changes and vibrations in the skin. Any deformation in the corpuscle leads to opening of pressure-sensitive or stretch-activated ion channels or Mechanosensitive channels present in the axon membrane or axolemma of the neurite inside the core of the corpuscles or end-organ. This initiates generation of the receptor potential inside the corpuscles which is also secondarily supported by the voltage-activated ion channels present in the core of the corpuscles.
Official source
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