Final answer:
The skin acts as a sense organ and contains specialized sensory nerve structures to detect touch, surface temperature, and pain. The types of somatosensory activity in the skin include mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The skin acts as a sense organ because it contains specialized sensory nerve structures that detect touch, surface temperature, and pain. The types of somatosensory activity in the skin include mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors. Mechanoreceptors detect mechanical forces such as pressure, roughness, vibration, and stretching. Thermoreceptors sense variations in temperature, and nociceptors sense painful stimuli.