Topic summary
Vibrissae
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Whiskers.
Vibrissae
The vibrissal hair is usually thicker and stiffer than other types of (pelagic) hair but, like other hairs, the shaft consists of an inert material (keratin) and contains no nerves. However, vibrissae are different from other hair structures because they grow from a special hair follicle incorporating a capsule of blood called a blood sinus which is heavily innervated by sensory nerves. Vibrissae are symmetrically arranged in groups on the face and supply the trigeminal nerve.