A 50-year-old woman who is a known diabetic and hypeensive has developed vesicular eruption on the trunk in T6 dermatome. Dermatologist confirmed it as Herpes Zoster. She is complaining severe pain and increased sensitivity to touch. Which of the following receptors sense sustained pressure?
High-Yield Explanation
Meissner corpuscles are dendrites encapsulated in connective tissue and respond to changes in texture and slow vibrations.Merkel cells are expanded dendritic endings, and they respond to sustained pressure and touch. The capsule is located relatively superficially, either in the basal epidermis (Merkel) or just below the epidermis(Meissner). Ruffini corpuscles are enlarged dendritic endings with elongated capsules, and they respond to sustained pressure. Pacinian corpuscles consist of unmyelinated dendritic endings of a sensory nerve fiber, 2 mm in diameter, encapsulated by concentric lamellae of connective tissue that give the organ the appearance of a cocktail onion. These receptors respond to deep pressure and fast vibration. Both these receptors lie deeper in the dermis and connective tissue and therefore are sensitive to stimuli applied over much larger territory. Zoster can cause some destruction of nerve fibers in the middle and lower dermis, detectable with silver-impregnation techniques.