Sensory nerve endings (magnified skin block)

Terminationes nervorum cutis

Integumentary (skin)SkinLeg

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What it is
A cutaneous nerve fibre branching to an onion-like lamellated (Pacinian) corpuscle in the deep dermis, an encapsulated Meissner corpuscle in a dermal papilla, and bare free nerve endings that penetrate the epidermis.
Function
Pacinian corpuscles sense vibration and deep pressure, Meissner corpuscles light touch, and free endings pain, itch and temperature.
Size
Pacinian ~1 × 0.5 mm, Meissner ~0.1 mm (magnified here)
Clinical note
Meissner corpuscles are densest in the fingertips and lips and decline with age, one reason fine touch fades in the elderly.

Nearby integumentary (skin) structures Arrector pili muscle (magnified skin block), Dermal capillaries (magnified skin block), Dermis (magnified skin block), Eccrine sweat gland (magnified skin block), Epidermis (magnified skin block), Hair follicle (magnified skin block), Hair shaft (magnified skin block), Hypodermis (magnified skin block), Leg skin, Sebaceous gland (magnified skin block)