ch 12 Somatic Senses and Special Senses

Flashcards about the somatic senses and special senses based on the Introduction to the Human Body 11th Edition.

What is sensation?

The conscious or subconscious awareness of changes in the external or internal environment.

What are the two types of general senses?

Somatic senses (tactile, thermal, pain, proprioceptive) and visceral senses (organs).

What senses are included in the 'special senses' category?

Smell, taste, vision, hearing, and balance.

What does ophthalmology specialize in?

The eye and its disorders.

What does otorhinolaryngology specialize in?

Ears, nose, and throat and their disorders.

What four conditions must be satisfied for a sensation to occur?

Stimulus, sensory receptor, neural pathway, and brain integration.

What is perception?

Conscious awareness and interpretation of sensations; primarily a function of the cerebral cortex.

What is adaptation in the context of sensation?

Decrease in sensation during a prolonged stimulus.

How are sensory receptors classified by structure?

Free nerve endings, encapsulated nerve endings, and separate cells.

What do mechanoreceptors detect?

Detects mechanical pressure; sensations of touch, pressure, vibration, proprioception, hearing and equilibrium; monitors stretching of blood vessels and internal organs.

What do thermoreceptors detect?

Detect changes in temperature.

What do nociceptors respond to?

Respond to painful stimuli resulting from physical or chemical damage to tissue.

What do photoreceptors detect?

Detect light that strikes the retina of the eye.

What do chemoreceptors detect?

Detect chemicals in the mouth (taste), nose (smell), and body fluids.

What do osmoreceptors sense?

Sense the osmotic pressure of body fluids.

What sensations do free nerve endings in the skin sense?

Pain, itch, tickle, cold, or warmth.

What does the type I cutaneous mechanoreceptor (tactile disc) sense?

Continuous touch and pressure.

Where do somatic sensations arise from?

Arise from stimulation of sensory receptors in the skin, mucous membranes, muscles, tendons, and joints.

Which areas of the body contains the largest numbers of sensory receptors?

Tip of the tongue, the lips, and the fingertips.

What are the tactile sensations?

Touch, pressure, vibration, itch, and tickle.

What does vibration detection rely on?

High and low frequency sensations.

What stimulates itch and tickle sensations?

Free nerve endings.

What sensations do thermoreceptors provide?

Coldness and warmth.

Where are pain or nociceptors located?

Located in nearly every body tissue; provide pain sensations (fast/acute or slow/chronic).

What do proprioceptors allow us to know?

Allow us to know where our head and limbs are located and how they are moving.

What is Kinesthesia?

The perception of body movements.

What three types of cells form the olfactory epithelium?

Olfactory receptors, supporting cells, and basal cells.

What are the five primary tastes?

Sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami (savory/meaty).

Which cranial nerves innervate the taste buds?

Facial (VII), glossopharyngeal (IX), and vagus (X).

What are the accessory structures of the eyes?

Eyebrows, eyelashes, eyelids, extrinsic eye muscles and lacrimal apparatus.

What are the three layers of the eyeball?

Fibrous tunic (sclera and cornea), vascular tunic (choroid, ciliary body, and iris), and retina.

What are the two layers of the retina?

Neural layer and pigmented layer.

What two cavities is the interior of the eyeball divided into?

Anterior cavity and the vitreous chamber.

What is the function of the aqueous humor?

Maintains the shape of the eyeball and supplies oxygen and nutrients to the lens and cornea.

What is the function of the vitreous body?

Helps maintain the shape of the eyeball and keeps the retina attached to the choroid.

What are the kinds of improper refraction?

Myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism.

What is convergence?

Movement of the eyeballs toward the nose to view an object.

What is the photopigment in rods called?

Rhodopsin.

What is the function of the external ear?

Collects sound waves and channels them inward.

What is the function of the middle ear?

Conveys sound vibrations to the oval window.

What is the function of the internal ear?

Houses the receptors for hearing and equilibrium.

What does the external ear consist of?

Auricle, external auditory canal, and eardrum.

What does the middle ear consist of?

Auditory (eustachian) tube, auditory ossicles, and oval window.

What does the internal ear consist of?

Bony labyrinth and membranous labyrinth.

What is static equilibrium?

The orientation of the body relative to the pull of gravity.

What is dynamic equilibrium?

Maintenance of body position in response to rotational acceleration and deceleration.

What do the semicircular ducts do?

Detects rotational acceleration or deceleration.

What does the utricle do?

Detects linear acceleration or deceleration that occurs in a horizontal direction and also head tilt.

What does the saccule do?

Detects linear acceleration or deceleration that occurs in a vertical direction.