SWL is a 37-year-old woman with a suspected Schwanoma. The radiology report reads as follows: “a soft tissue mass to the right of L1 at the level of the L1-L2 neural foramen. The mass cannot be...

SWL is a 37-year-old woman with a suspected Schwanoma. The radiology report reads as follows: “a soft tissue mass to the right of L1 at the level of the L1-L2 neural foramen. The mass cannot be differentiated from the L1 nerve root and extends into the neural foramen such that it has a ‘dumbbell’ configuration with components lateral to the neural foramen, a waist in the foramen itself, and a component within the spinal canal to the right of the thecal sac.” The neurologist, Dr. Jane Motumbo, applies the base of a vibrating 128 CPS tuning fork to the skin overlying SWL’s right and left thighs and asks her to describe the sensation. She asks SWL to close her eyes and then to tell her whether the tuning fork is vibrating or not. Vibration sense is impaired on the right side. Tests for pain and temperature indicate impairment on the left side. Using the tuning fork, Dr. Motumbo is primarily testing the function of which of the following sensory receptors?

a. Ruffini endings

b. Pacinian corpuscle

c. Meissner corpuscle

d. Merkel corpuscle

e. Free nerve endings