Pallesthesia

Pallesthesia (\ˌpal-es-ˈthē-zh(ē-)ə\), or vibratory sensation, is the ability to perceive vibration.^[1][2] This sensation, often conducted through skin and bone, is usually generated by mechanoreceptors such as Pacinian corpuscles, Merkel disk receptors, and tactile corpuscles.^[1] All of these receptors stimulate an action potential in afferent nerves (sensory neurons) found in various layers of the skin and body. The afferent neuron travels to the spinal column and then to the brain where the information is processed. Damage to the peripheral nervous system or central nervous system can result in a decline or loss of pallesthesia.

A diminished sense of vibration is known as pallhypesthesia.^[3] To determine whether a patient has diminished or absent pallesthesia, testing can be conducted using a tuning fork at 128 Hz by placing it on the skin overlying a bone. This works because bones are good resonators of vibrations.^[1]