Relationship between lamellar sensory corpuscles distributed along the upper arm’s deep arteries and pulsating sensation of blood vessels

Abstract

Vibration is detected by mechanoreceptors, including Pacinian corpuscles (PCs), which are widely distributed in the human body including the adventitia of large blood vessels. Although the distribution of PCs around large limb vessels has been previously reported, there remains no consensus on their distribution in the adventitia of the human deep blood vessels in the upper arm. In addition, the physiological functions of PCs located around the deep limb blood vessels remain largely unknown. This study aimed to elucidate detailed anatomical features and physiological function of lamellar sensory corpuscles structurally identified as PCs using the immunohistochemical methods around the deep vessels in the upper arm. We identified PCs in the connective tissue adjacent to the deep vessels in the upper arm using histological analysis and confirmed that PCs are located in the vascular sheath of the artery and its accompanying vein as well as in the connective tissue surrounding the vascular sheath and nerves. PCs were densely distributed on the distal side of deep vessels near the elbow. We also examined the relationship between vascular sound and pulsating sensation to evaluate the PCs functions around deep arteries and veins and found that the vascular sound made by pressing the brachial arteries in the upper arm was associated with the pulsating sensation of the examinee. Our results suggest that PCs, around deep vessels, function as bathyesthesia sensors by detecting vibration from blood vessels.