Senses

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to the senses, sensory organs, and their functions.

General Sense Organs

Often exist as individual cells or receptor units, widely distributed throughout the body.

Special Sense Organs

Large and complex organs that localize grouping of specialized receptors.

Sensory Receptor Types - Encapsulated

Receptors classified by the presence of a covering capsule.

Sensory Receptor Types - Unencapsulated

Receptors classified as free or naked due to their lack of capsule.

Photoreceptors

Receptors that respond to light.

Chemoreceptors

Receptors that detect chemicals.

Pain receptors

Receptors that respond to injury.

Thermoreceptors

Receptors that detect temperature change.

Mechanoreceptors

Receptors activated by movement or deformation of the capsule.

Proprioceptors

Receptors that sense the position of body parts or changes in muscle length or tension.

Sensory Pathways

Pathways that convert stimuli into nerve impulses perceived as sensations in the CNS.

Free nerve endings

Receptors in the skin that respond to pain, touch, tickle, and temperature.

Tactile (Meissner) corpuscle

Receptor that responds to fine touch and vibration.

Bulbous (Ruffini) corpuscle

Receptor that responds to touch and pressure.

Lamellar (Pacini) corpuscle

Receptor that responds to pressure and vibration.

Modes of Sensation

Includes muscle receptors like Golgi tendon receptors and muscle spindles.

Disorders Involving General Senses

Conditions affecting general sense receptors, such as third-degree burns.

Sclera

The tough outer coat of the eyeball, commonly known as the 'white' of the eye.

Choroid

Pigmented vascular layer of the eye that prevents scattering of light.

Optic nerve

The nerve through which visual information is transmitted to the brain.

Retina

Innermost layer of the eye containing rods and cones.

Rods

Photoreceptors that are sensitive to low light levels.

Cones

Photoreceptors that detect color and work best in bright light.

Visual Pathway

Pathway through which visual impulses travel to the brain for interpretation.

Aqueous Humor

Fluid in the anterior cavity of the eye, located in front of the lens.

Vitreous Humor

Fluid in the posterior cavity of the eye, located behind the lens.

Ear Divisions

Includes the external ear, middle ear, and inner (internal) ear.

Auricle (pinna)

Outer part of the ear that helps collect sound.

Tympanic Membrane

Also known as the eardrum, it vibrates in response to sound.

Cochlea

Part of the inner ear that converts sound waves into nerve impulses.

Semicircular Canals

Structures in the inner ear responsible for balance and equilibrium.

Crista Ampullaris

Sensory structures in the semicircular canals that detect dynamic equilibrium.

Taste Buds

Chemoreceptors responsible for the sense of taste.

Gustatory Impulses

Nerve signals related to taste carried by cranial nerves VII and IX.

Olfactory Receptors

Nerve endings in the nasal cavity that detect smells.

Integration of Senses

The process by which the brain combines sensory signals and memories for perception.