Assessment Of Which Part Of The Skin Is More Sensitive To Touch

STUDENT NAME1

Students Name

Lectures Name

Biology

15 February 2017

Assessment of Which Part of the Skin is More Sensitive to Touch

Abstract

This paper intends to assess which area of the skin is most sensitive to touch. It was

hypothesized that the finger is the most sensitive part of the skin hence a research study was

undertaken to prove this. After undertaking the successful research study the hypothesis that the

finger is the most sensitive part of the skin was proven to be true.

Introduction

Background-The skin is made up of somatosensory system that is responsible for all the

sensation we feel from coldness, hotness, smooth or rough sensation, pressure, tickling, itching

sensation, to painful and vibratory stimuli. The somatosensory system is made up of 4 subtypes

i.e. mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, pain receptors and proprioceptors (Samuel and MagR,

2012).

The touch receptors are further divided into slow adapting and rapidly adapting. The slow

adapting do not responding to stimuli very fast, they are exemplary in sensing pressure caused by

an object on the skin but cannot determine when the stimulus started or ended while the rapidly

adapting responds fast but cannot sense the duration of the stimulus on the skin (Barrett et al).

When the skin comes into contact with anything the sensory neurons receive signals and in

response the neurons discharge signals that are taken to the brain where they are interpreted

(Yuhas, 2017). Over the year it has been scientifically proven that some part of the body are

STUDENT NAME2

more sensitive than others and this is mainly due the fact that the number and distribution of

receptors in a particular regions of the body is always different with some having more receptors

than others and this research study intend to confirm that. This will be done through two point

discrimination test over the different parts of the body.

The purpose of this research study is to discover which area of the human body is the

most sensitive to touch while the hypothesis of the study is that the finger is the most sensitive

area of the skin.

Results

In the experiment’s results the finger and the palm had the highest overall sensitivity

average of 1.9 with the neck having the lowest overall sensitivity of 1.45. The sensitivity average

of the forearm was 1.65 with that of the calf being 1.85. Since the hypothesis was testing two

variables, the amount of sensitivity against the different parts of the body the one way ANOVA

test was used for analysis. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test results were as follows;

F(4,15) was 4.078947 which is the ratio of the between groups and the within groups. The p-

value was 0.019648. The p- value is always compared with the significance value of 0.05 in

order to confirm whether the null hypothesis is true or false.

Figures

Finger Palm Calf Neck Forearm

1.8 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.8

2 2 1.8 1.4 1.4

1.8 2 1.8 1.2 2

2 2 2 1.6 1.4

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This is the data table for the values used in carrying out the one way ANOVA test and it

represents the average sensitivity at different distances for different parts of the body.

This is the one way ANOVA test results after the analysis.

Anova: Single Factor

SUMMARY

Groups Count Sum Average Variance

Column 1 4 7.6 1.9 0.013333

Column 2 4 7.6 1.9 0.04

Column 3 4 7.4 1.85 0.01

Column 4 4 5.8 1.45 0.036667

Column 5 4 6.6 1.65 0.09

ANOVA

Source of Variation

SS df MS F P-value F crit

Between Groups

0.62 4 0.155 4.078947 0.019648 3.055568

Within Groups

0.57 15 0.038

Total 1.19 19

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Finger Palm Calf Neck Forearm

Average

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This graph represents the average sensitivity of the skin over the different parts of the body.

Discussion

From the above results of the research study carried out it can easily be seen that the

sensitivity is highest in the fingers and palms with an average of 1.9 in both reinforcing the

hypothesis that the finger is the most sensitive part of the skin to touch. From the one way

ANOVA test the p-value of 0.019648 is below the significance value of 0.05 hence the null

hypothesis which states that sensitivity is equal in all parts of the body is rejected. This is

confirmed further by the fact that the F value of (4.078947)> F critical value of (3.055568), this

indicates further that the null hypothesis is wrong. Hence from the above test results it can be

concluded that different parts of the body have different sensitivity with the fingers and palms

being the most sensitive.

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Reference

1)Samuel, Leslie, and MagR. “7 senses and an introduction to sensory receptors - interactive

biology, with Leslie Samuel.” Posts. Interactive Biology, with Leslie Samuel, 7 May

2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

2)Yuhas, Daisy. Skin-deep science: Find your sensitive side. Scientific American, 2017. Web. 15

Feb. 2017.

3)Hall, John E. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. N.p.: Elsevier Health

Sciences, 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

4)Barrett, K E, et al. Ganong’s review of medical physiology. New Delhi : McGraw Hill, 2010,

20 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

5)Costanzo, Linda S. Physiology,. N.p.: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2017

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