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Mechanoreception
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Meissner's corpuscle; mechanoreception lateral-line system lateral-line system Cross-sectional diagram of a spider's trichobothrium, showing a long tactile hair (seta) anchored in a socket. Labeled parts include the bothrium, membrane, helmet, nerve processes, and cylinder. Diagram showing the knee jerk reflex: a reflex hammer strikes the patellar tendon below the knee, activating a stretch receptor in the quadriceps muscle. This sends a signal through a sensory neuron to the spinal cord, where it connects to a motor neuron. The motor neuron then signals the muscle to contract, causing the lower leg to kick forward. The diagram also illustrates the pathway of sensory and motor neurons and their connection in the spinal cord. statocyst gravity receptors
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Mechanoreception: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Chapters devoted to the mechanical senses are found in Gordon L. Fain, Sensory Transduction (2003); and E. Bruce Goldstein and James R. Brockmole, Sensation and Perception, 10th ed. (2017). Works dealing with specific aspects of mechanoreception include Scott M. Lephart and Freddie H. Fu (eds.), Proprioception and Neuromuscular Control in Joint Stability (2000); Sheryl Coombs et al. (eds.), The Lateral Line System (2013); Theodore H. Bullock et al. (eds)., Electroreception (2005); and Robert Lalonde (ed.), Spatial Orientation in Humans and Animals (2014).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Sven Dijkgraaf
    Emeritus Professor of Comparative Physiology, State University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Article title updated for style. Nov 06, 2026
Corrected display issue. Aug 09, 2022
Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mechanoreception. Nov 30, 2018
Updated information about pain reception in humans. Jan 06, 2017
Media added. Jan 06, 2017
Bibliography thoroughly revised and updated. Nov 16, 2016
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mechanoreception. May 09, 2012
Article revised. Aug 25, 2000
Article added to new online database. Sep 16, 1998
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