Whiskers

Vibrissae, also known as sinus, touch or whiskers (Latin vibrissa, plural vibrissae ) are special hair that usually grow many mammals in the face. They are thicker, stronger and longer than ordinary hair and specializes in the perception of tactile stimuli.

Vibrissae exist as all the hair from lifeless material, containing no nerve and grow well after. However, in contrast to other hair follicle, they are in a special ( follicles ) are embedded, which contains a blood-filled capsule between its outer and inner layer, the so-called blood sinus. In the wall are numerous free nerve endings. If the vibrissae touched, it bends and moves the blood in the capsule to the side. The blood amplifies the movement and allows the nerves at the base, even perceive minimal stimuli. In some mammals, the follicles of vibrissae are also surrounded by muscle tissue, so they can be moved to explore the area active.

Vibrissae animals offer advantages, to find their way in the dark or in murky water, perceive hazards or detect food. Some animals, such as mice, can even feel fine air or water movements with their vibrissae. A large part of the brain of many mammals is busy evaluate the nerve impulses from the follicles of vibrissae. The whiskers are vital for the animals.

Due to the spatial arrangement of the individual vibrissae and the ability to easily retrieve this arrangement at any stage of neural information processing in the brain stem, thalamus and in the cerebral cortex, the Vibrissensystem the rat has become one of the most important model systems of the tactile stimulus processing.

Related

Comparable with the touch function of the vibrissae include the barbels of different fish. However, these differ from the vibrissae in their construction, because they consist of living tissue and can wear as taste even more sense organs.

The Latin term denoted vibrissae whiskers except the guard hairs in the nasal cavity (nose hair).

Tierartliche features

• Have whiskers, unlike their name suggests, nothing to do with the function of the purring of cats.
• Domestic cats have except the face and whiskers on the inside of their front legs.
• Naked mole rats have no fur, their only " hairs " are vibrissae on the face. You grow even vibrissae inside the mouth.
• The whiskers of chinchillas can be up to one third of their body length.
• Octodon have whiskers not only the face, but even on the front chest, shoulder, flank, back and tail.

Biomechanics and Bionics

In an article in the scientific journal Nature examined bionics in October 2006 vibrissae and the possible applications of artificial imitations discussed in the art. Supposedly vibrissae were used to measure flow velocities, as found for example in seals, also already used by Russian submarines for target tracking.