Noun
1. One of the four major types of mechanoreceptor. They are nerve endings in the skin responsible for sensitivity to vibration and pressure. Vibrational role may be used to detect surface, e.g., rough vs. smooth. Lamellar corpuscles are also found in the pancreas, where they detect vibration and possibly very low frequency sounds. (wikipedia.org)
2. Rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors found in subcutaneous tissue beneath both hairy and glabrous skin. Pacinian corpuscles contain an afferent nerve fibre surrounded by a capsule with multiple concentric layers. They have large receptive fields and are most sensitive to high-frequency stimuli, such as vibration. (biology-online.org)
3. A specialized bulb-like nerve ending located in the subcutaneous tissue of the skin; occurs abundantly in the skin of palms and soles and joints and genitals. (wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
4. A microscopic, onionlike body consisting of layers of connective tissue wrapped around a nerve ending, located in the deep layers of skin, tendons, etc., and functioning as a sensory receptor of pressure and vibration. (dictionary.reference.com)
Syn: Lamellar corpuscles
Word origin: 1875–80; after Filippo Pacini (1812–83), Italian anatomist;