Morphology, distribution, and density of sensory receptors in the glabrous skin of the cat rhinarium

The sensory organization of the cat rhinarium has been investigated. Individual rete pegs were found to contain a triad of receptors comprising free nerve endings ascending in the peg to terminate in close proximity to the skin surface, a basally situated layer of Merkel corpuscles, and an abundance of encapsulated receptors lying at the base and to one side of the rete peg. Neither the Merkel corpuscles nor the encapsulated receptors were evenly distributed. Merkel corpuscles were more abundant dorsally; ventrally they were fewer and asymmetrically arranged within individual rete pegs. The encapsulated corpuscles were more evenly distributed, but dorsally they were consistently present as encapsulated clusters of up to nine corpuscles.