The bulboid corpuscles (end-bulbs of Krause) are
cutaneous receptors
A cutaneous receptor is the type of sensory receptor found in the skin ( the dermis or epidermis). They are a part of the somatosensory system. Cutaneous receptors include mechanoreceptors (pressure or distortion), nociceptors (pain), and th ...
in the human body.
The end-bulbs of Krause were named after the German
anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
Wilhelm Krause (1833–1910).
Function
The end-bulbs of Krause were thought to be
thermoreceptors, sensing cold temperatures, but their function is unknown.
Structure
They are minute cylindrical or oval bodies, consisting of a capsule formed by the expansion of the connective-tissue sheath of a medullated fiber, and containing a soft semifluid core in which the axis-cylinder terminates either in a bulbous extremity or in a coiled-up plexiform mass.
Location
End-bulbs are found in the
conjunctiva
The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with goblet cells, stratified columnar epithelium ...
of the
eye (where they are spheroidal in shape in humans, but cylindrical in most other animals), in the
mucous membrane
A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...
of the lips and
tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...
, and in the
epineurium
The epineurium is the outermost layer of dense irregular connective tissue surrounding a peripheral nerve. It usually surrounds multiple nerve fascicles as well as blood vessels which supply the nerve. Smaller branches of these blood vessels pe ...
of
nerve trunks.
They are also found in the
penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...
and the
clitoris and have received the name of genital corpuscles;
in these situations they have a mulberry-like appearance, being constricted by connective-tissue septa into from two to six knob-like masses.
In the
synovial membranes of certain joints, e. g., those of the fingers, rounded or oval end-bulbs occur, and are designated articular end-bulbs.
References
External links
Description at cirp.org
{{Portal bar, Anatomy
Sensory receptors