Array of Sensory Receptors in the Human Skin
A variety of mechanoreceptors in the skin are responsible for our perception of touch, pressure, heat and cold. There are stretch receptors in the muscles, tendons and joints that give us information about environmental changes.
• Meissner’s corpuscles in the skin permit us to sense the objects that touch the skin.
• Pacinian corpuscles, deep in the skin, respond to the vibrations applied to the skin. These receptors have encapsulations of connective tissue.
• Krouse’s end bulbs, below the epidermis, enable us to sense the cold.
• Ruffini’s corpuscles can sense the heat applied to the skin.
• Bare nerve endings present in the skin can sense the pain when injured.