Special Senses and Endocrine System Review

Flashcards reviewing key concepts from the lecture on special senses, including olfaction, gustation, vision, hearing, and equilibrium.

What are the two major types of senses?

Special senses and general senses.

What are the five special senses?

Sight, taste, smell, hearing, and balance.

What is olfaction?

The special sense for smell.

Where are the receptors for olfaction located?

Within the olfactory epithelium covering the superior nasal conchae and the upper part of the nasal septum.

What cranial nerve do olfactory cells attach to?

Olfactory nerve, which is cranial nerve I.

Where does the olfactory nerve terminate?

Within the olfactory bulb.

After the olfactory bulb, where does the olfactory pathway continue?

The temporal lobe (primary olfactory area), limbic system, and orbitofrontal cortex.

What is gustation?

The special sense for taste.

Where are gustatory receptors located?

Within taste buds on the mucosa of the tongue, pharynx, cheeks, epiglottis, and soft palate, but mostly on the tongue.

What are papillae?

The small projections on the surface of the tongue that house taste buds.

What is the primary gustatory cortex and where is it located?

Insula; it is located by peeling back the temporal lobe to see that little lobe within.

What are the four types of papillae?

Filiform, fungiform, foliate, and valate papillae.

What are the three layers of the eye?

Fibrous tunic, vascular tunic, and retina.

What two structures make up the fibrous tunic?

Sclera and cornea.

What structures make up the vascular tunic?

Choroid, ciliary body, lens, and iris.

What are the two major chambers of the eye?

Anterior and posterior chambers.

What fluids fill the anterior and posterior chambers of the eye?

Aqueous humor (anterior) and vitreous humor (posterior).

What is a key function of the cornea?

Focusing light rays onto the retina.

What does melanin from melanocytes do in the choroid?

Absorbs stray light, preventing reflection and scattering.

What is the function of ciliary body?

Helps to shape it for clarity of vision (seeing distance or up close).

What muscles are contained in the iris and what do they do?

The sphincter pupillae and dilator pupillae muscles; they control the size of the pupil and thus the amount of light entering the eye.

What are the two layers of the retina?

Pigmented layer and neural layer.

What is a key function of the pigmented layer of the retina?

Helps to prevent light scattering, absorbing extra light.

What are the names of the two photoreceptors found in the neural layer for?

Rods and cones.

What type vision do rods allow us to see?

Vision in dim light and shades of grey.

What type vision do cones allow us to see?

Colour vision.

What is the fovea centralis and what is its function?

A small depression in the retina with the greatest concentration of cones; the area of highest visual acuity.

What is the name of cranial nerve II?

Optic nerve.

In binocular vision, where do the optic nerves decussate?

The optic chiasm.

What are the three main regions of the ear?

External ear, middle ear, and inner ear.

What senses are associated with the external and middle ear?

Audition/hearing only.

What senses are associated with the inner ear?

Equilibrium/balance.

What are the functions of the auricle?

Gathers, funnels, and amplifies sound to direct it into the external acoustic meatus.

What are the other names for the auditory tube?

Pharyngotympanic and Eustachian tube.

List the three auditory ossicles.

Malleus, incus, and stapes.

What is the function of the auditory/Eustachian tube?

Equalizes air pressure between the middle ear and external air pressure.

What muscle attaches to the stapes?

The stapedius muscle.

What muscle attaches to the tympanic membrane or malleus?

The tensor tympani.

What are the two components of the inner ear?

Bony labyrinth and membranous labyrinth.

What fluid is found within the bony labyrinth?

Perilymph.

What fluid is found within membranous labyrinth?

Endolymph.

What structures help the body perceive rotational movements of the head?

The semicircular canals and semicircular ducts.

What structures help the body perceive the static position of the head and linear acceleration?

The utricle and saccule within the vestibule.

What structure contains sensory receptors for hearing?

The cochlear duct within the cochlea.