Cutaneous sensory receptor

Skin sensory receptors (cutaneous sensory receptors) are specialized structures and free nerve endings located throughout the epidermis and dermis of the skin. They mediate the sense of touch, temperature, pain, pressure, and vibration. Subtypes include mechanoreceptors (e.g., Merkel cells, Meissner's corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, Ruffini endings), thermoreceptors, nociceptors (pain receptors), and chemoreceptors. These receptors are not a single molecular entity but a functional and anatomical grouping essential for somatosensory perception and reflexive responses to environmental stimuli[1][2][8]. They are not considered a singular therapeutic target, though some subtypes or molecular components (such as sodium channels in nociceptors or TRP channels in thermoreceptors) are drug targets in pain management and related fields[1][3].

Other names

Cutaneous receptorskin receptorsomatosensory receptor