I just learned that humans don’t have receptors to sense wetness. What is it that we feel when water touches our skin then?

Question

From my understanding, we’re able to feel the temperature, texture and pressure of water. And if we’re able to feel all that, what more else is there? What defines wetness and what should it feel like?

In: 1135

Answer 1

We do feel all that, and then our *brain* processes that information and concludes “this feels wet.” That’s not a wetness receptor, that’s 3 simpler receptors and a central processing unit that synthesizes that information.

What we lack is a wetness-specific receptor that fires off a signal directly when it detects x level of moisture in the environment, the way, say, heat receptors fire faster or slower depending on the temperature they’re exposed to.