Following Exposure to Poison Oak While Camping, a 20-Year-Old Male

Multiple Choice

Following exposure to poison oak while camping, a 20-year-old male is experiencing pruritus as a consequence of his immune response to irritants in the plant. What physiological process best accounts for his complaint?

A) His body is communicating a low-level pain response as a protective measure.
B) Free nerve endings are initiating an itch-specific signal to the somatosensory cortex.
C) Local irritation of Langerhans cells is sending signals by way of myelinated type C nerve fibers.
D) Ruffini corpuscles are transmitting the message of pruritus to the cerebral cortex.