Sense organs

Receptors provide information about both external and internal environments.
The receptors of the human are located in EYES, EARS, NOSE, TONGUE and SKIN.
These organs are called Sense Organs.

Types of sensory receptors

Processing Sites and Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

It provides more than 80% of the information received about the external environment.
THE EYE

STRUCTURE OF EYE
Eyes contain 3 main parts;
Schlerenchyma
Choroid
Retina

Schlerenchyma
It is supportive structure of eye that protects inner structures of the eye.
In the front, it bulges and becomes the transparent cornea.
Light enters the eye through cornea.

CHOROID
Just inside the sclera is the choroid.
This layer contains many blood vessels. At the front the eye the choroid layer forms the iris.
It is colored part of eye. In the centre of the iris is an opening called PUPIL.

The diameter of iris is related to the amount of light.
It narrows pupil under intense light but widens in dark conditions.
The size of pupil is controlled automatically by central nervous system.

THE RETINA
Behind the iris is the lens. It focuses the light on the retina (photoreceptor).
Innermost layer of the eye, the retina contains the light receptors.
At the rear of the eye, the retina is attached to the optic nerve which carries impulses from the light sensitive cells to the brain.

Light entering the eye passes through the cornea, pupil, lens, and forms an image on the retina.
Retina contains light sensitive cells which they are called cones and rods.
VISION

Cones are sensitive to color and bright light.
Rods are sensitive to dim light but not to color.
The retina contains 125 million rods and 6,5 million cones.

A severe dificiency of vitamin A leads to a condition called night blindnes.
In this condition amount of retinal rods and cones is decreased.

While at rest, instead of focusing on the retina, the light rays focus in front of it.
This type of eye defect is called myopia.
This condition can be corrected by concave lenses.
defects of eye

At rest, the light rays focus behind instead of on the retina.
This type of eye defect is termed hypermetropia.
This condition can be corrected by convex lenses.

The human ear has 2 sensory functions.
One of them is hearing.
Other is maintaning balance or equilibrium.
THE EARS

Structure of ears
Ears contains 3 main parts;
Outer ear
The middle ear
Inner ear

1. OUTER EAR
Outer ear is composed of 3 parts.
These are pinna, auditory canal and eardrum.
Pinna is a cartilaginous tissue which collects sound waves and determines the source of voices.

Auditory canal is a canal which is found between pinna and eardrum.
It has hairs and produces wax-like substance to filter dust and solid partcicles.
The eardrum separates outer ear from the middle ear.
It is thin half transparent.

2. MIDDLE EAR
It contains three small bones which are called the hammer-malleus, anvil-incus and stirrup-stapes.
These bones form a chain across the middle ear linking the eardrum (hammer) to another membrane, the oval window(stirrup).

EUSTACHIAN TUBE
It is located between pharynx and the middle ear.
It equalizes air pressure between the middle ear and the atmosphere.

3. THE INNER EAR
It consists of the cochlea and semicircular canals.
Cochlea is organ of hearing which consists of coiled, liquid-filled tubes.

They are separated from another by membranes.
Lining of the membranes are specialized hair cells that are sensitive to vibration.

Semicircular canals enable the body to maintain balance.
These canals contain fluid and hairlike projenctions that detect changes in body and head position.
Semicircular canals

Sound waves collected by outer ear pass down the auditory canal to the eardrum.
They cause the eardrum to vibrate.
The vibrations are transmitted across the middle ear by the hammer, anvil and stirrup.
HEARING

Vibration of stirrup cause vibrations in the oval window which in turn cause the fluid within the cochlea.
The initiates in nerve endings around the hair cells.
These impulses are carried to the cerebral cortex, where their meaning is interpreted.

All multicellular organisms have a skin composed of one or more layers.
THE SKIN

Functions of Skin
It protects the inner layers of the body from physical and chemical effects.
It prevents body from microbes
It prevents water loss in terrestial organisms.
It prevents body cells from ultraviolet light.

Skin is composed of 3 tissue layers:
Epidermis
Dermis
Hypodermis
Skin Structure

EPIDERMIS is outermost layer of skin.
This layer composed of keratinised epithelial cells.
Epidermis do not contain blood vessels.
Upper section of epidermis is composed of non-living cells.
The color of skin is conferred by melanin pigment.
DERMIS is rich in blood vessels and nerve endings.
The receptors located in the skin are connected to these nerve ending.
Dermis also contain smooth muscle, sweat glands, hair follicles and lymph vessels.
HYPODERMIS innermost layer of skin

RECEPTORS
Meisner corpuscles: They are involved in reception of touch of the palm sole and lips.
Paccinian corpuscles: They are involved in reception of mechanical stimuli.
Krouse corpuscles: They are involved in reception of cold and pressure.
Ruffini corpuscles: They are involved in reception of heat, touch and pressure.

Sweat glands:
They are present in all regions of the skin. They open onto the surface of skin by pores.
They are involved in removal of water, minerals, urea and other substances.
The main function of sweat glands is the regulation of body temperature by evaporation of water.

Nose is the organ of the body involved in both respiration and smell.
The reception of smell takes place in chemoreceptors located in nasal cavity.
These chemoreceptors are called as olfactory receptors
Nose also provides the control of temperature
And the control of humidity and the elimination of infectious microbes
THE NOSE

The surface of the tongue is covered with small projections called papillae.
There are the taste receptors or taste buds within the papillae.
Nerve fibers branch among the cells of the taste bud and each cell is in contact with one or more neurons.
THE TASTE

Only substances that are in solution can stimulate the taste buds.
The taste buds are sensitive to only four basic tastes;
SWEET, SOUR, SALT AND BITTER
Each taste bud is particularly sensitive to one of these tastes.

When taste buds are stimulated, impulses are initiated by the sensory cells of the structure and carried to the brain.