Meissner's corpuscle in Skin

A Meissner's corpuscle is typically an elongated oval structure (dashed blue outline in the image above), located within a dermal papilla and consisting of several irregular layers roughly parallel to the epidermal surface.  Embedded within this structure (but not visible in this image) is a sensory nerve ending associated with fine touch.  Meissner's corpuscles are most common in the thick skin of palm and sole.

Historical note:  The nerve fibers within a Meissner's corpuscle are shown at right, as published by Georg Meissner in 1853.

Comments and questions: dgking@siu.edu

SIUC / School of Medicine / Anatomy / David King

https://histology.siu.edu/intro/IN038b.htm
Last updated:  13 June 2022 / dgk