Anatomy Exam - Topic 14, Chapter 14

Free Nerve Endings

unspecialized nerve fibers in nearly all body tissue that primarily sense pain, temperature, and touch

Encapsulated Endings

a type of sensory nerve ending enclosed in a protective connective tissue capsule, making it sensitive to mechanical stimuli like touch, pressure, vibration, and stretch

Specialized Receptor Cell

a cell designed to detect specific stimuli from the environment and convert them into electrical signals for the nervous system

General Sense

distributed throughout the body

Special Sense

specific organ dedicated to it

Modality

refers to how information is encoded

Olfactory Epithelium

a specialized tissue in the nasal cavity responsible for the sense of smell

Odorant Molecules

volatile chemical compounds that can be detected by the sense of smell when they enter the nose and bind to olfactory receptors

Where do Odorant Molecules transport to?

dendrites

Axons extend from

basal surface to brain, connect to olfactory bulb, and then split

Olfactory Cortex

the part of the brain responsible for processing the sense of smell

Hypothalamus and Limbic System

long term memory and emotion