TACTILE CORPUSCLES. 39 



and granular extremities. The arrangement of the different 

 anatomical elements is shown in Fig. 4. 



The situation of these corpuscles beneath, instead of in 

 the substance of the true skin, shows that they cannot be 

 properly considered as tactile corpuscles, a name which is ap- 

 plied to other structures situated in the papillae of the coriiim ; 

 and it is impossible to assign to them any special function 

 connected with sensation, such as the sense of temperature, 

 or the appreciation of pressure or weight. All that we can 

 say with regard to them is that they constitute one of the 

 several modes of termination of the nerves of general sensi- 

 bility. 



Tactile Corpuscles. The name tactile corpuscles implies 

 that these bodies are connected with the sense of touch ; and 

 this view is sustained by the fact that they are found almost 

 exclusively in parts endowed to a marked degree with tac- 

 tile sensibility. They are sometimes called the corpuscles of 

 Meissner and Wagner, after the anatomists by whom they 

 were first described. The most interesting researches into 

 their structure, however, are of later date. The view ordi- 

 narily accepted with regard to the structure of these bodies 

 is that adopted by Kolliker, who has himself investigated 

 their anatomy very closely ; but his researches have been 

 controverted very strongly by Eouget. All are agreed con- 

 cerning the situations where these corpuscles are found, their 

 number, etc., the discussions with regard to their structure 

 being confined to their mode of connection with the nerve- 

 fibres. 



The true tactile corpuscles are found in greatest number 

 on the palmar surfaces of the hands and fingers and the plan- 

 tar surfaces of the feet and toes. They exist, also, in the 

 skin on the backs of the hands and feet, the nipples, and a 

 few on the anterior surface of the forearm. As we shall see 

 when we come to describe them fully, they are situated in 

 the substance of the papillae of the skin, and they cannot fail 



