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Concept

Meissner corpuscles

A Meissner corpuscle, a type of encapsulated nerve ending, is depicted with its numerous fine, hair-like projections extending outward from a central, rounded body, illustrating its role in detecting light touch and impending slip of objects.

Encapsulated nerve endings in the upper dermis of glabrous skin — fingertips, palms, soles, lips — that fire when the skin is lightly stroked or when a held object begins to slip. They are tuned to low-frequency vibration in the thirty-to-fifty hertz range and adapt rapidly, signalling change rather than steady pressure. Their density in the fingertip declines markedly with age.

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