Structure and function of cold receptors.

Abstract

Afferent impulses were recorded from single fibers serving cold and warm receptors in the skin of the cat's nose. The receptors were carefully tested for specificity and the receptive fields localized under the microscope with a microthermode. Each single fiber served one spot-like receptive field. The field was marked without damaging the nerve ending by inserting two thin stainless steel wires into the skin on both sides of the receptor. Investigation of semithin and ultrathin serial sections by light and electron microscopy revealed beneath each cold spot a dermal papilla which contained a single small myelinated fiber dividing into a number of unmyelinated terminals. Near the epidermis the receptor branches leave their Schwann cell envelope, penetrate the basal lamina of the epithelium, and their tips are invaginated into the cytoplasm of the basal epithelial cells. The basal lamina of the epithelium fuses with that of the receptor axon. The receptor axons contain numerous mitochondria, glycogen particles and a filamentous receptor matrix with vesicles of various sizes. The described structures were absent beneath the warm spots. In addition to the cold receptors, Merkel cell neurite complexes and lamellated encapsulated endings were found that are known to be mechanoreceptors.