Body of touch. What is it?

The body of touch is a collection of special receptors that are located in the muscles, joints and tendons, skin and mucous membrane of the genital organs, tongue, lips. The organs of human touch perceive every action mechanically. For example, we can feel some pressure, touch, pain and temperature changes. As for the afferent innervation of our skin, it is carried out by special nerve fibers, which in turn come from the neurons of spinal ganglia. Tactile receptors located in the skin are formed by dendrites of sensitive neurons. In general, as has already been said, such skin receptors are able to perceive not only chemical and mechanical stimuli, but also electrical, as well as temperature ones.

Receptors, as an organ of touch, can be not only temperature or tactile, but also painful. According to physiologists, each of them acts as a perceiving device. Nerve endings are divided into two types: not free and free. Their difference lies in the presence of an axial cylinder in the second and the cells of the glia in the first.

The organ of touch is, first of all, free nerve endings. In the human skin there are a lot of them. There are a lot of them in the field of vibrissae. In the skin of a person who is covered with hair, not only free nerve endings are revealed, but also mechanoreceptors, which are considered highly specialized. For example, in the skin of the fingers on the palms and soles of the feet Meissner's bodies are located, and on the mucous lips, nipples, and genitals there are Krause flasks, which in turn provide hypersensitivity to these areas. As for the very process of touch, it involves muscle spindles or proprioceptors of muscles, fascia, joints and tendons. One of the factors of the multifacetedness of all tactile sensations of man is the diversity of the organs of touch, as well as the features of their temporal and spatial arousal.

Thick epidermis permeate numerous free nerve endings. They perceive painful irritations. This process is called nociception. The most tender touches are first of all perceived by the nerve endings that braid the roots of the hair. In addition, there are a lot of Merkel cells in the epidermis, taking direct part in the perception of any touches. In addition, they synthesize neuronal molecules, neurofilaments and many other markers specific for such nerve cells. Met-enkephalin stimulates virtually all immune responses of the human body. And this despite the fact that the substance is produced by the same cells of Merkel. Another sense of touch is Meisner's body, which was already mentioned above. They are located mainly in the papillate layer of the skin of the genital organs, fingers, eyelids and lips. Their diameter is not more than 100 microns. In addition, each of these bodies is surrounded from the outside by a special connective tissue capsule. They include neuroglial cells, which in turn form an inner flask around the terminal thickening of each sensitive nerve fiber.

Such a tactile organ as the pressure receptor is the Veter-Pacini lamellar body. A huge number of these bodies lies in the subcutaneous layer in the region of the external genitalia, fingers, the capsule of internal organs, the walls of the bladder. The diameter of one body does not exceed a millimeter. In general, they are characterized by the presence of an internal and external bulb, while in the center of the first there is a branch of nerve fiber, which is very sensitive.

The human brain receives a huge amount of information about the surrounding world. In this case, great importance in the process of perception of the world for each of us is just a touch. The sensory organ is the tactile receptors located on the entire surface of the human body. Thanks to this, we feel warmth, pain, touch and much more.