Sensory nerve receptors in the skin

Tactility

The sense of touch, allowing us to feel and sense the environment through peripheral sensory receptors.

Peripheral sensory receptors

Specialized nerve endings in the skin that detect different types of external stimuli such as touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.

Dermis

The skin layer beneath the epidermis containing various nerve fibers and corpuscles for detecting environmental stimuli.

Merkel cells

Sensory cells located in the lower layer of the epidermis that are sensitive to light touch.

Mechanoreceptors

Peripheral sensory receptors in the dermis that detect mechanical stimuli such as touch and pressure.

Meissner corpuscles

Sensory corpuscles located in the dermal papillae that detect light touch.

Pacinian corpuscles

Large sensory corpuscles located deeper in the dermis that detect pressure.

Thermoreceptors

Sensory receptors that detect temperature changes; includes cold and hot receptors.

Nociceptors

Specialized pain receptors that detect noxious stimuli and make the dermis sensitive to pain.

Depolarization threshold

The point at which nociceptors generate a new nerve impulse in response to tissue damage.

Tickle receptors

Free branched nerve endings in the dermis that generate the sensation of tickling.

Itch receptors

Sensory receptors sensitive to itch stimuli, often stimulated by inflammatory mediators.