Researchers have discovered a new sensory organ in the skin that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts, an advance that may help develop novel painkillers. The discovery is being published in the journal 'Science'.
About:
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now discovered a new sensory organ in the skin that is sensitive to hazardous environmental irritation.
It is comprised of glia cells with multiple long protrusions and which collectively go to make up a mesh-like organ within the skin. Activation of the organ results in electrical impulses in the nervous system that result in reflex reactions and an experience of pain, they said.
This organ is sensitive to painful mechanical damage such as pricks and pressure. The new pain-sensitive organ is organised together with pain-sensitive nerves in the skin.
The discovery changes understanding of the cellular mechanisms of physical sensation and it may be of significance in the understanding of chronic pain.
Dear Student,
You have still not entered your mailing address. Please enter the address where all the study materials will be sent to you. (If applicable).
