Meissner Corpuscle (structures)
- Meissner Corpuscles are touch receptors (mechanoreceptors) located it the upper dermis.
- They are very sensitive and allow the perception of small vibrations which equals “light touch” (they are unable to detect pain or deep pressure).
- They are located in “sensitive” areas of the body such as the lips and finger pads (the distal palmar digits of the hand).
- Structurally speaking they consist of a free nerve ending wrapped in an oval structure made up of supporting cells = an unmyelinated nerve ending.
- There is a strong reduction of these receptors with age.