Catania K C
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1996 Feb 12;365(3):343-54. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9861(19960212)365:3<343::AID-CNE1>3.0.CO;2-4.
The nose of the star-nosed mole consists of 22 fleshy appendages that fan out from around the nostrils and are covered with specialized epidermal sensory receptors called Eimer's organs. The Eimer's organs of the star-nosed mole are domed epidermal papillae approximately 40 to 50 microns in diameter. The center of each papilla contains a column of stacked circular epidermal cells closely associated with five to ten neural processes that originate from three myelinated fibers in the underlying dermis. At middle and lower levels in the cell column, a single nerve fiber is located in the center of the column, enclosed by the epidermal cells which wrap around the fiber and form desmosomes between their own adjacent plasma membranes. An additional five to ten fibers travel up the sides of the column ensheathed in the margins of the epidermal cells. At the top of the cell column, the nerve fibers produce a repeated series of terminal swellings. These terminal swellings converge in the center of the column, where a single epidermal cell completely encapsulates each circular arrangement of nerve terminals. No synapses or other cellular junctions were observed between the nerve terminals where they converge within the cell column. There is a single Merkel-like ending at the base of the cell column, and a single encapsulated corpuscle beneath the cell column, in the connective tissue of the dermis. The structure of Eimer's organs is consistent with a mechanoreceptive function.
星鼻鼹的鼻子由22个肉质附属物组成，这些附属物从鼻孔周围呈扇形展开，并覆盖着称为埃默氏器官的特殊表皮感觉受体。星鼻鼹的埃默氏器官是直径约40至50微米的圆顶状表皮乳头。每个乳头的中心包含一列堆叠的圆形表皮细胞，这些细胞与五到十个神经突起紧密相连，这些神经突起起源于下方真皮中的三条有髓纤维。在细胞柱的中下层，一根神经纤维位于柱的中心，被表皮细胞包围，表皮细胞围绕着纤维并在它们相邻的质膜之间形成桥粒。另外五到十根纤维沿着细胞柱的侧面向上走，被表皮细胞的边缘包裹着。在细胞柱的顶部，神经纤维产生一系列重复的终末肿胀。这些终末肿胀在柱的中心汇聚，在那里单个表皮细胞完全包裹着神经末梢的每一个圆形排列。在神经末梢在细胞柱内汇聚的地方，未观察到突触或其他细胞连接。在细胞柱的底部有一个单一的默克尔样终末，在细胞柱下方的真皮结缔组织中有一个单一的被囊小体。埃默氏器官的结构与机械感受功能一致。
