Vega_1990_Eur.J.Morphol_28_69

The presence of met-enkephalin like immunoreactivity (MEL IR) was investigated immunohisto-chemically in the glabrous skin of the cat rhinarium using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase Sternberger's method. Neither sensory corpuscles nor nerve bundles show MEL IR. MEL IR was found in the epidermal Merkel cells, as well as in Langerhans cells and/or melanocytes. In dermal papillae the reaction results positive in a number of cells which could be identified as Schwann or pigmentary cells.