Pacinian corpuscles
Deep skin receptors
Pacinian corpuscles are specialized nerve endings found deep in the skin, joints, and some internal organs that detect pressure and vibration.
Named after Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini, these sensory receptors have a distinctive onion-like layered structure that allows them to respond to rapid changes in mechanical pressure rather than sustained touch.
They are particularly sensitive in the fingertips and help you sense textures and vibrations when handling objects.
- dermisLiving tissue under epidermis
- lamellaeThin parallel plates
- onion layersNested vegetable membranes
- nerve endingsPeripheral neural sensors
- vibrationRapid oscillating movement
viscoelasticity · tactile sensation · pressure · rapid · haptic feedback · proprioception · mechanoreceptors · sensory adaptation · connective tissue · neural pathways · afferent · nerve impulse · skin sensitivity · peripheral nerves · shear forces · capsule · palms · fingertips
- touchtouch, feel, touching, caress, feeling
- Anatomical EponymsAchilles tendon, Adam's apple, Fallopian tube, Fallopian tubes, McBurney's point
- sensory systemschemoreception, photoreception, proprioception, olfaction, gustation
- sensory receptorsmechanoreceptors, pain receptors, chemoreceptors, proprioceptors, baroreceptors
- body cellsred blood cells, white blood cells, erythrocytes, fat cell, leukocytes
- connective tissueconnective tissue, collagen, elastin, cartilage, tendon
Pacinian corpusclesMeissner corpuscles
Nerve endings detecting light touch