tactile meniscus

tactile meniscus
meniscus tactus one of the small, cup-shaped, tactile nerve endings within the skin; many of them are formed by branches of a single nerve fiber, and each one is in contact with a single, modified epithelial cell called a Merkel cell. These are found in the deep epidermis, in hair follicles, and in the hard palate, and function as tactile receptors. Called also tactile disk.

Schematic diagram of the meniscus tactus (tactile meniscus) of a nerve fiber in contact with a Merkel cell of the epithelium.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Meniscus — The word meniscus comes from the Greek and refers to a crescent shaped structure. Today a meniscus is something that is shaped like a crescent moon or a croissant pastry. A meniscus can be an anatomic feature. For example, the medial meniscus of… …   Medical dictionary

  • tactile disk — see under meniscus …   Medical dictionary

  • corpuscle — 1. A small mass or body. 2. A blood cell. SYN: corpusculum. [L. corpusculum, dim. of corpus, body] amnionic c. SYN: corpus amylaceum. amylaceous c., amyloid c. SYN: corpus amylaceum. articular corpuscles …   Medical dictionary

  • disk — 1. A round, flat plate; any approximately flat circular structure. 2. SYN: lamella (2). 3. In dentistry, a circular piece of thin paper or other material, coated with an abrasive substance, used for cutting and polishing tee …   Medical dictionary

  • Cell — The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane. Each cell in the human body there are 100 trillion cells in each of us contains the entire… …   Medical dictionary

  • Merkel nerve ending — Merkel nerve endings are mechanoreceptors found in the skin and mucosa of vertebrates that provide touch information to the brain. The information they provide are those regarding pressure and texture. Each ending consists of a Merkel cell in… …   Wikipedia

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