Relationship between the structure of human finger tissue and the location of tactile receptors

There are several tactile receptors in the tissue of human fingers. In this study we calculate in detail the deformation of finger tissue when a finger comes into contact with a rigid plate using a FE (finite element) model to clarify the reason for the precise location of the receptors. The FE model is constructed using measured geometry and material properties. As a result, we found that the strain energy is concentrated at the tactile receptor locations. When a frictional force is applied, the stress/strain is concentrated near the edge of the contact area. By calculating the stress/strain distribution using models with/without epidermal ridges/papillae, we found that the shape of the epidermal ridges/papillae influences the stress/strain distribution near the tactile receptors.