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Anatomy & Physiology: Sensory Systems and Special Senses

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Terms in this set (24)

  • What is sensory transduction?

    Sensory transduction is the process by which sensory receptors convert a stimulus (like light, sound, or chemicals) into an electrical signal (action potential) that the nervous system can interpret.

  • Compare general and special senses.

    General senses detect touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception and are located throughout the body. Special senses include smell, taste, vision, hearing, and balance, and have specialized organs.

  • Where are olfactory receptors located?

    Olfactory receptors are located in the olfactory epithelium on the roof of the nasal cavity.

  • How do odorants activate olfactory receptors?

    Odorants bind to specific receptor proteins on olfactory receptor cells, triggering a signal transduction pathway that generates an action potential.

  • Trace the path of action potentials from olfactory receptors to the brain.

    Action potentials travel from olfactory receptors through the olfactory nerve (CN I) to the olfactory bulb, then to the olfactory cortex and other brain areas.

  • Describe the location and structure of taste buds.

    Taste buds are located mainly on the tongue's papillae and contain gustatory receptor cells that detect chemicals in food.

  • Trace the path of action potentials from gustatory receptors to the brain.

    Signals from taste buds travel via the facial (CN VII), glossopharyngeal (CN IX), and vagus (CN X) nerves to the gustatory cortex.

  • What are the five primary taste sensations and their detected chemicals?

    Sweet (sugars), salty (metal ions), sour (acids), bitter (alkaloids), and umami (amino acids like glutamate).

  • List the main structures of the eye and their functions.

    Cornea (light entry), lens (focuses light), iris (controls pupil size), retina (photoreceptors), sclera (protective outer layer), and optic nerve (transmits visual info).

  • What are the three layers of the eyeball?

    Fibrous layer: sclera and cornea; vascular layer: choroid, ciliary body, iris; inner layer: retina.

  • Describe the structure of the retina.

    The retina contains photoreceptors (rods and cones), bipolar cells, and ganglion cells that process and transmit visual information.

  • How does light activate photoreceptors?

    Light changes the shape of photopigments in rods and cones, triggering a chemical cascade that alters membrane potential and generates signals.

  • Compare rods and cones in vision.

    Rods detect low light and peripheral vision; cones detect color and detail in bright light.

  • Trace the path of light through the eye to the retina and then to the brain.

    Light passes cornea → aqueous humor → lens → vitreous humor → retina; signals travel from retina via optic nerve to the visual cortex.

  • What is light and dark adaptation?

    Light adaptation is the eye adjusting to bright light; dark adaptation is adjusting to low light, involving photopigment regeneration.

  • List the structures of the outer and middle ear.

    Outer ear: pinna, external auditory canal, tympanic membrane; Middle ear: ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes), pharyngotympanic tube.

  • What is the role of the pharyngotympanic tube?

    It connects the middle ear to the throat and helps equalize air pressure on both sides of the tympanic membrane.

  • Describe the structure and function of the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals.

    Cochlea detects sound; vestibule senses static equilibrium; semicircular canals detect dynamic equilibrium (head rotation).

  • How do the ear structures function in hearing?

    Sound waves travel through outer ear, vibrate tympanic membrane, ossicles amplify vibrations, cochlea converts vibrations to neural signals.

  • Trace the path of sound from the outer ear to the brain.

    Sound → external auditory canal → tympanic membrane → ossicles → cochlea → auditory nerve → auditory cortex.

  • How does the ear differentiate pitch and loudness?

    Pitch depends on which part of the cochlea is stimulated; loudness depends on the amplitude of vibrations.

  • Define static and dynamic equilibrium.

    Static equilibrium senses head position relative to gravity; dynamic equilibrium senses head movement and acceleration.

  • Describe the structure and function of the maculae.

    Maculae are sensory patches in the vestibule with hair cells and otoliths that detect head position for static equilibrium.

  • Describe the structure and function of the crista ampullaris.

    Crista ampullaris are sensory organs in semicircular canals with hair cells that detect rotational head movements for dynamic equilibrium.