Abstract
The presence of mechanoreceptors in glabrous skin allows humans to discriminate textures by touch. Their quantification as clinical markers by biopsy is an invasive method of diagnosis. We report the localization and quantification of Meissner corpuscles using in vivo , non-invasive optical microscopy techniques. We discovered that regions containing Meissner corpuscles could be easily identified by laser scanning microscopy (LSM) with an enhanced optical reflectance above the corpuscles, caused by a protrusion of the strongly reflecting epidermis into the Stratum corneum with its weak reflectance.