Final answer:
The skin is loaded with tactile sensory cells including Merkel cells, Pacinian and Meissner's corpuscles, as well as other types of receptors, each responding to different tactile stimuli like pressure, vibration, and light touch.
Step-by-step explanation:
The structure that is loaded with tactile sensory cells is the skin. The skin acts as a sense organ packed with specialized sensory structures, which can detect various stimuli, including touch, temperature, and pain. The skin possesses several types of tactile receptors, including:
- Merkel cells (type I cutaneous mechanoreceptors) - Responsive to low frequency vibrations and fine textures, found in the stratum basale of the epidermis.
- Pacinian corpuscles (lamellated corpuscles) - Detect deep pressure and vibration, located in the deep dermis or subcutaneous tissue.
- Meissner's corpuscles (tactile corpuscles) - Transduce sensations of light touch and are found in the dermal papillae.
- Hair follicle plexus - Encircles hair follicles and senses hair movement.
- Ruffini corpuscles (bulbous corpuscles) - Perceive skin stretching and are categorized as type II cutaneous mechanoreceptors.
Each receptor type is adapted to specific tactile stimuli, meaning they respond to varying forms of touch such as pressure, vibration, and motion. When activated, these receptors send nerve impulses to the brain, which interprets them, allowing an individual to react to their environment.