The sensory innervation of the rat rhinarium

The present study documents the characteristics of innervation of the rhinarium or hairless rat snout skin by light and electron microscopy. The outer glabrous surface is covered with a stratified squamous epithelium that forms both rete pegs and rete ridges, the latter on the inferior border near the philtrum. The glabrous skin contains numerous presumptive epidermal and dermal free nerve endings (FNE's), Merkel terminals at the base of the rete ridges and pegs, and simple, nonencapsulated corpuscles. A second region of dense innervation, found on an elevation of the inner wall of the vestibule, contains similar components of innervation, with the exception that no Merkel terminals were identified. Since no Merkel terminals were present in this area of the vestibule, intraepidermal as well as dermal FNE's could be identified with certainty. This skin is covered by a thin squamous epithelium overlying dense connective tissue. The simple corpuscles are similar to those in the rhinarium, as well as resembling those described in other species. FNE's were frequently observed intimately associated with simple corpuscles. Several examples of large FNE's with two to three layers of cytoplasmic lamellae were found, suggestive of transitional forms between FNE's and simple corpuscles. Thus, the pattern of sensory innervation in the glabrous rat snout skin is similar to that found in other furred species described to date, but in addition, the sensory innervation of ridged skin in the rat also resembles that of epidermis organized into rete pegs. This dense sensory innervation may be correlated with whisking behavior of the predominantly nocturnal rat.