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Sensory Receptors and Nerve Endings

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Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of the Larynx

Abstract

Recently, molecular constructions of sensory receptors about gustation, olfaction, nociperception, and so on have been revealed. Many kinds of ion channel-type nociceptors such as capsaicin receptor, ATP receptor, and acid-sensing receptor were cloned, and the studies about nociceptors are now making rapid progress. The distribution of capsaicin receptors as nociceptor and taste receptors in the larynx was examined. Capsaicin receptors were detected in the laryngeal mucosal epithelium and lamina propria. Taste bud-like structures including gustducin-immunoreactive cells in the larynx were detected. They may be potentially able to participate in taste perception in the larynx.

Sensory nerve endings innervating the laryngeal mucosa exist as free nerve endings or taste bud-like structures in the epithelium. They innervate the nearest area to the surface of mucosa, and they are able to make rapid reaction to chemical or mechanical stimulus. The superior laryngeal nerve and the inferior laryngeal nerve contain substance P (SP)-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the larynx, and SP may be involved in the laryngeal sensory innervation system through these two nerves. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) also plays an extremely significant role in the laryngeal sensory innervation. CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were found in every region of the larynx.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, 602-8566, Japan

    Takeshi Nishio, Shinobu Koike, Hiroyuki Okano & Yasuo Hisa

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  1. Takeshi Nishio
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  2. Shinobu Koike
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  3. Hiroyuki Okano
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  4. Yasuo Hisa
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Correspondence to Yasuo Hisa .

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  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    Yasuo Hisa

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Nishio, T., Koike, S., Okano, H., Hisa, Y. (2016). Sensory Receptors and Nerve Endings. In: Hisa, Y. (eds) Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of the Larynx. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55750-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55750-0_1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-55749-4

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