What Does corpuscle Mean
The Latin term corpuscŭlum is the diminutive of corpus , which translates as “body” . It arrived in our language as a corpuscle : a very small fragment of matter.
The concept is often used in the realm of biology . The Meissner (also known as corpuscles touch ), for example, are nerve endings that are on the skin and allow the soft touch feel. They are named after their discoverer, the physician Georg Meissner , born in Germany in 1829 and dedicated to the study of histology and anatomy.
If the vibrations they receive are less than 50 Hz, the sensitivity of Meissner corpuscles is the highest of all those found in our body, that is, their response threshold is the lowest. In other words, they are considered receptors capable of activating in a very short time.
The structure of Meissner's corpuscles is made up of flattened cells that are arranged in the form of horizontal lamellae surrounded by connective tissue. You can also see a fiber of nerves that winds its way through these elements. The dimensions of these corpuscles are tiny: their length averages 85 microns and their diameter 50.
The corpuscles of Pacini , on the other hand, are those sensory receptors found in the skin that react to deep pressure or rapid vibration. They are found in the group of five mechanoreceptors discovered by humans, that is, sensory receptors that emit a reaction if they receive a distortion or mechanical pressure .
The connective tissue capsule of the corpuscles of Pacini is highly developed and its length is measured in millimeters. As in the case of Meissner's corpuscles, it is also composed of several layers of flattened cells; each of them is separated from the others by means of amorphous material and collagen fibers.
Each Pacini corpuscle has a corresponding fiber that loses its Schwann sheaths and myelin. Its adaptation is rapid and its response occurs only at the beginning and at the end of the mechanical deviation, as well as in the face of high frequency vibrations. Two parts in which we can find them are the reticular dermis and the subcutaneous connective tissue, especially in the foot and hand.
Ruffini's corpuscles are also located on the skin , whose function is to perceive changes in temperature that are related to heat and to leave a record of the stretching suffered by the skin, since it is continuously deformed.
Ruffini's corpuscles are found in the deep dermis of the face and the back of the hands, and are particularly sensitive to these changes in temperature. With respect to its structure, its center is dilated and its ending is nervous.
The corpuscles Hassall are cell assemblies are distributed in the thymus, an organ of the immune system. Therefore also they receive the name of thymic corpuscles .
The renal corpuscle , which as its name indicates is found in the kidney, consists of Bowen's capsule and the glomerulus . The capsule Bowen resembles a sack that handles involve the glomerulus (one network formed by capillaries).
Barr corpuscles are located in somatic cells belonging to females of certain species . Its formation occurs when the sex chromatin found on one of the X chromosomes condenses.
Birds, for their part, have bulboid corpuscles located on the papillae of the tongue and the beak. Each corpuscle is a capsule with a membrane and at least one pair of granule cells.