Noun, pl. Meissner’s corpuscles
1. A type of mechanoreceptor; a type of nerve ending in the skin that is responsible for sensitivity to light touch. In particular, they have highest sensitivity (lowest threshold) when sensing vibrations lower than 50 Hertz. They are rapidly adaptive receptors. (wikipedia.org)
2. Any of the small elliptical tactile end organs in hairless skin containing numerous transversely placed tactile cells and fine flattened nerve terminations. (merriam-webster.com)
3. A sensory nerve ending that is sensitive to mechanical stimuli, found in the dermis in various parts of the body. (Google Dictionary)
Syn: Tactile corpuscles, corpuscle of Meissner
Name origin: Named after Meissner, Georg (1829–1905), German anatomist and physiologist. Meissner conducted in 1851 intensive comparative microscopic investigations on the fibers and cells of the common trunk of the vestibular and cochlear nerves. In 1852 he studied the tactile corpuscles of the skin which now bear his name. He published other papers dealing with the problems of microscopy, particularly those relating to the skin. In 1857 he published a description of the nerve plexus in the submucosa of the intestinal wall. (merriam-webster.com)