Medical Dictionary

Ruffini's corpuscle

noun Ruf·fi·ni's corpuscle \r-ˈfē-nēz-\

Medical Definition of RUFFINI'S CORPUSCLE

:  any of numerous oval sensory end organs occurring in the subcutaneous tissue of the fingers—called also Ruffini's brush, Ruffini's end organ

Biographical Note for RUFFINI'S CORPUSCLE

Ruf·fi·ni \rüf-ˈfē-nē\ Angelo (1864–1929), Italian histologist and embryologist. Ruffini served as director of a small hospital in Lucignano, Italy, where he set up his own laboratory for histological research. Concurrently, at the University of Siena he was instructor of histology and later professor of embryology. From 1912 until his death he held the post of professor of histology and general physiology at the University of Bologna. From 1890 to 1906 Ruffini worked on proprioceptive sensibility. In 1888 he had begun research on nerve receptors. In 1891 he discovered a new form of human sensory nerve ending now known as Ruffini's corpuscle; he published his discovery in 1894.

Variants of RUFFINI'S CORPUSCLE

Ruf·fi·ni's corpuscle or Ruf·fi·ni corpuscle \-nē-\

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