Senses Overview - Fall 2024 Bonachea

A collection of vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms and concepts related to the senses as discussed in the lecture.

Sensory systems

Provide inputs to the CNS about the body and the outside world.

General senses (somatic senses)

Senses that transduce information about the body itself, such as touch, heat, and pain.

Special senses

Senses that transduce information about the outside world, including taste, smell, sight, hearing, and balance.

Photoreceptors

Specialized cells in the retina that detect light; includes rods and cones.

Aqueous humor

Watery fluid that bathes the iris, pupil, and lens of the eye.

Vitreous humor

Clear jelly-like fluid that occupies the cavity behind the lens of the eye.

Conjunctiva

A membrane over the eye that protects the exposed surface.

Rods

Photoreceptors that are sensitive to low light levels.

Cones

Photoreceptors that allow for color discrimination.

Accommodation

The process by which the lens of the eye changes shape to focus on objects at different distances.

Ossicles

Small bones in the middle ear that amplify sound vibrations.

Basilar membrane

A membrane inside the cochlea that vibrates in response to sound waves.

Tinnitus

A ringing in the ear, sometimes caused by excessive noise or medication.

Papillae

Tiny bumps on the tongue that contain taste receptors (taste buds).

Olfactory receptors

Receptors located in the nasal cavity that detect odors.

Tactile corpuscles

Touch receptors located in the skin, especially concentrated in sensitive areas like fingertips.

Referred pain

Pain perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus; e.g., liver pain felt in the shoulder.