n :  one of the numerous minute bodies (as a Meissner's corpuscle) in the skin and some mucous membranes that usu. consist of a group of cells enclosed in a capsule, contain nerve terminations, and are held to be end organs of touch - called also touch corpuscle  .
 
 
 
Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.  © 1997-2004.