

Each fingertip contains approximately 3,000 nerve endings called Meissner's corpuscles, which are designed to detect light touch and vibration. The integration of information from these fibers is what allows us to gain such rich sensory experiences through our skin, but it has also made it more challenging for researchers to understand the fibers’ individual roles. The part of the body that has the most nerve endings is probably the fingertips.

Three types-A-beta, A-delta and C fibers-have subtypes that are specialized for sensing particular types of touch other subtypes carry information related to pain.
#Most nerve endings in body free
They help to bridge the gap between the physical act of touching and the cognitive awareness of tactile sensation.Įven a simple stroke across the forearm engages several distinct nerve fibers. Sensory nerve endings in the fingers include Meisnner’s corpuscles (light touch, rapidly adapting), Pacinian corpuscles (large receptive fields, rapidly adapting), free nerve endings (temperature and pain), Merkel discs (light touch discrimination of objects and texture), and Ruffini endings (slowly adapting, finger position information). Along with the fibers, they translate our physical interactions with the world into electrical signals that our brain can process.
#Most nerve endings in body skin
These sensors comprise specialized nerve endings and skin cells. That’s not all, though: the frenulum (v-shaped part under the head, before the shaft begins) is another extremely sensitive part, as is the foreskin, in cases of uncircumcised penises. There are over 7,000 nerve endings in each foot. Within your skin is an array of touch sensors, each associated with nerve fibers that connect to the central nervous system. The head of the penis (glans) has about 4,000 nerve endings which makes it one of the most erogenous zones of the male body. One quarter of all the bones in the human body are in your feet. A cold splash of water, the tug of a strong breeze or the heat and heft of your coffee mug will each play on your skin in a different way.
