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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
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Intravital Two-Photon Imaging of Touch Sensory Axon Morphology in Mouse Skin
Published on: December 30, 2025
Myelinated nerve endings in human skin
Vincenzo Provitera1, Maria Nolano, Angela Pagano
1Neurology Division, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation IRCCS, Via Bagni Vecchi, 1 Telese Terme, BN 82037, Italy. vprovitera@fsm.it
Muscle & Nerve
|April 4, 2007
Summary
Investigating myelinated nerve endings in skin, this study found differences in density and distribution between hairy and glabrous skin. Classic criteria for distinguishing nerve fiber types are unsuitable for skin terminations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Dermatology
- Histology
Background:
- Myelinated nerve fibers are crucial for sensory perception.
- Understanding their structure in different skin types is important for diagnostics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of using hairy skin samples for studying myelinated nerve fibers.
- To determine differences in myelinated nerve endings between glabrous and hairy skin.
- To evaluate the suitability of traditional classification methods for skin nerve terminations.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical techniques were employed.
- Confocal microscopy was utilized for detailed imaging.
- Morphometric analysis of myelinated nerve endings was performed on samples from 30 healthy volunteers.
Main Results:
- Consistent information on cutaneous myelinated terminations was obtained from both hairy and glabrous skin samples.
- Significant differences in the density and distribution of myelinated endings were observed between hairy and glabrous skin.
- Cutaneous terminations of small myelinated A delta fibers lose their myelin in the dermis, becoming indistinguishable from C-fiber terminations.
Conclusions:
- Hairy and glabrous skin provide reliable samples for studying myelinated nerve endings.
- Myelinated nerve endings in hairy and glabrous skin exhibit distinct morphometric characteristics.
- Traditional criteria based on fiber size are inadequate for classifying myelinated nerve terminations within the skin.
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