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Ruffini ending
Nerve ending of Ruffini.
Details
Part of	Skin
Function	Mechanoreceptor
Identifiers
Latin	corpusculum sensorium fusiforme
TH	H3.11.06.0.00017
TE	corpuscle_by_E5.17.1.0.2.0.15 E5.17.1.0.2.0.15
FMA	83602
Anatomical terminology[edit on Wikidata]

The bulbous corpuscle, Ruffini ending or Ruffini corpuscle is a slowly adapting mechanoreceptor located in the cutaneous tissue between the dermal papillae and the hypodermis. It is named after Angelo Ruffini.

Structure

Ruffini corpuscles are enlarged dendritic endings with elongated capsules.

Function

This spindle-shaped receptor is sensitive to skin stretch, and contributes to the kinesthetic sense of and control of finger position and movement. They are at the highest density around the fingernails where they act in monitoring slippage of objects along the surface of the skin, allowing modulation of grip on an object.

Ruffini corpuscles respond to sustained pressure and show very little adaptation.

Ruffinian endings are located in the deep layers of the skin, and register mechanical deformation within joints, more specifically angle change, with a specificity of up to 2.75 degrees, as well as continuous pressure states. They also act as thermoreceptors that respond for a long time, so in case of deep burn there will be no pain, as these receptors will be burned off.

References

1. "8". Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology (23rd ed.). TATA McGraw-Hill Lange. 2010. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-07-067722-7.
2. Molnár Z, Brown RE., 2010. Insights into the life and work of Sir Charles Sherrington. Nat Rev Neurosci. 11(6):429-36
3. Mountcastle, Vernon C. (2005). The Sensory Hand: Neural Mechanisms of Somatic Sensation. Harvard University Press. p. 34.
4. "8". Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology (23rd ed.). TATA McGraw-Hill Lange. 2010. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-07-067722-7.
5. Arthur c. Guyton; John E. Hall. "47". Guyton & Hall Pocket Companion to Textbook of Medical Physiology (10 ed.). p. 362. ISBN 81-8147-057-5.
6. Hamilton, Nancy (2008). Kinesiology: Scientific Basis of Human Motion. McGraw-Hill. pp. 76–7.

External links

• Paré M, Behets C, Cornu O (2003). "Paucity of presumptive ruffini corpuscles in the index finger pad of humans". J Comp Neurol. 456 (3): 260–6. doi:10.1002/cne.10519. PMID 12528190. S2CID 13396416.

• Sensory receptors