General Senses - Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering general senses, receptor types, tactile receptors, adaptation, conduction velocity, and proprioception based on the lecture notes.

General senses

The collection of senses including somatic (body) and visceral (internal) senses, as opposed to the special senses.

Somatic senses

General senses that arise from muscles, joints, and skin.

Visceral senses

General senses that originate from internal organs.

Exteroceptors

Receptors that detect stimuli from outside the body, near or at the surface.

Interoceptors

Receptors that detect internal bodily stimuli (viscera and internal conditions).

Proprioceptors

Receptors that provide information about body position and movement (e.g., in muscles, tendons, joints).

Mechanoreceptor

Receptor activated by mechanical energy such as touch, pressure, vibration, or stretch.

Thermoreceptor

Receptor sensitive to changes in temperature.

Nociceptor

Receptor for painful or potentially damaging stimuli.

Baroreceptor

Receptor that monitors blood vessel pressure.

Osmoreceptor

Receptor that detects osmolarity of body fluids.

Free nerve endings

Unencapsulated nerve endings that detect pain, temperature, itch, and tickle.

Encapsulated nerve endings

Nerve endings surrounded by connective tissue; detect touch, pressure, and vibration.

Tactile disc (Merkel’s disc)

Slow-adapting mechanoreceptor in the epidermis that detects light touch.

Meissner’s corpuscle

Encapsulated mechanoreceptor in the dermal papillae that detects light touch and texture.

Ruffini corpuscle

Encapsulated receptor that detects skin stretch and sustained pressure; slowly adapting.

Pacinian corpuscle

Encapsulated receptor that detects deep pressure and high-frequency vibration; rapidly adapting.

Hair follicle receptor

Receptors around hair follicles that detect hair movement.

Adaptation

Process by which receptors reduce response to a constant stimulus.

Slowly adapting

Receptors that continue to respond during a maintained stimulus (tonic).

Rapidly adapting

Receptors that respond at onset (and sometimes offset) of a stimulus (phasic).

Afferent axon

Sensory neuron that carries impulses from receptors to the CNS.

Ia fiber

Large, fast-conducting muscle spindle afferent fiber involved in proprioception.

II fiber

Muscle spindle afferent fiber; large, slower than Ia; contributes to proprioception.

Aβ (AB) fiber

Fast, myelinated fiber mediating touch.

Aδ (Ad) fiber

Thinly myelinated fiber carrying fast pain and temperature.

C fiber

Unmyelinated fiber carrying slow pain, temperature, and itch.

Proprioception

Sense of body position and movement provided by proprioceptors in muscles, tendons, and joints.

Muscle spindle

Proprioceptor in muscle that detects changes in length; contains intrafusal fibers and is innervated by gamma motor neurons.

Tendon organ (Golgi tendon organ)

Proprioceptor in tendons that detects muscle tension.

Joint kinaesthetic receptors

Proprioceptors in joints that detect position and movement.

Gustatory receptor

Taste receptor cells located in taste buds.

Receptor potential

Graded electrical potential generated by a sensory receptor in response to a stimulus.

Neurotransmitter release (sensory receptor)

Release of neurotransmitters from the sensory receptor to activate the afferent neuron.

Receptive field

Region of sensory space where stimulation elicits a response from a neuron.

Pain (nociception)

Perception of tissue-damaging or intense stimuli; often little adaptation.

Fast pain

Sharp, immediate pain carried by large, myelinated Aδ fibers.

Slow pain

Dull, prolonged pain carried by unmyelinated C fibers.

Gustatory receptor (taste)

Taste receptor cells in taste buds that detect chemical tastants.