Comparative Study Of The Innervation Of The Facial Disc Of Selected Mammals

The greatest concentration of sensory nerves in the muzzle and facial disc of mammals is in the nose. In most nocturnal mammals, these nerves penetrate the epidermis of the naked nose either singly or in bundles which resemble the corpuscles of Elmer. The hair follicles around the nose, lips, and eyes, as well as the heavily innervated vibrissae follicles found in all hairy mammals except man, are well innervated; those elsewhere are not. Everywhere on the human body both large and small follicles abound in sensory nerves. These morphologic observations suggest that in most mammals the most sensitive areas of the skin are at the anterior and posterior ends (not reported here), and that human skin is better equipped for cutaneous sensibility than that of any other mammal