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Phasic mechanoreceptors are useful in sensing such things as texture or vibrations, whereas tonic receptors are useful for temperature and proprioception among others. [citation needed] Slowly adapting: Slowly adapting mechanoreceptors include Merkel and Ruffini corpuscle end-organs, and some free nerve endings.
Aδ fibers are characterized by thin axons and thin myelin sheaths, and are either D-hair receptors or nociceptive neurons. Aδ fibers conduct at a rate of up to 25 m/s. D-hair receptors have large receptive fields and very low mechanical thresholds, and have been shown to be the most sensitive of known cutaneous mechanoreceptors.
Tactile corpuscles or Meissner's corpuscles are a type of mechanoreceptor discovered by anatomist Georg Meissner (1829–1905) and Rudolf Wagner. [1] [2] This corpuscle is a type of nerve ending in the skin that is responsible for sensitivity to pressure.
Merkel nerve endings (also Merkel's disks, [1] or Merkel tactile endings [2]) are mechanoreceptors situated in the basal epidermis as well as around the apical ends or some hair follicles. [2] They are slowly adapting. They have small receptive fields measuring some milimeters in diameter. Most are associated with fast-conducting large ...
Pulmonary stretch receptors are mechanoreceptors found in the lungs. When the lung expands, the receptors initiate the Hering-Breuer reflex, which reduces the respiratory rate. This signal is transmitted by vagus nerve. Increased firing from the stretch receptors also increases production of pulmonary surfactant.
The utricle contains mechanoreceptors called hair cells that distinguish between degrees of tilting of the head, thanks to their apical stereocilia set-up. These are covered by otoliths which, due to gravity, pull on the stereocilia and tilt them.
In order for mechanical signals to be sensed, there need to be mechanoreceptors on the surface of chondrocytes. Candidates for chondrocyte mechanoreceptors include stretch-activated ion channels (SAC), [27] the hyaluronan receptor CD44, annexin V (a collagen type II receptor), [28] and integrin receptors (of which there exist several types on ...
Afferent nerve endings without mechanoreceptor cells are called free nerve endings. They are less sensitive than the encapsulated afferent fibers and generally function in the perception of pain. [52] Stretch-activated ion channels are responsible for many bodily functions in mammals.