I.

General Terms
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B.
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G.
H.

sensation - awareness of external/internal conditions

perception - conscious registration of conditions
stimulus - change that can initiate nerve impulse
receptor (sense organ) - converts stimulus to impulse
transduction - changing stimulus signal into nerve signal
generator potential - electrical impulse in receptor
receptor potential - receptor releases neurotransmitter
adaptation - decreased sensitivity with repeat stimuli
a. rapidly adapting - pressure, touch, smell
b. slowly adapting - pain, position, blood chemicals
I. afterimage - sensation even after stimulus is gone
J. modality - distinct property of each sensation
II. General Classification of Receptors
A. Location
1. exteroreceptors - respond to external environment
2. enteroreceptors - respond to internal environment
3. proprioreceptors - respond to body position/motion
B. Type of Stimulus Detected
1. mechanoreceptors - any mechanical deviation
a. touch, pressure, vibration, proprioception etc.
2. thermoreceptors - changes in temperature
3. nocireceptors - pain; physical or chemical damage
4. photoreceptors - light; rods & cones of the eye
5. chemoreceptors - shapes of different molecules
a. taste, smell, chemicals of blood
C. Simplicity or Complexity of the Receptor Structure
1. simple receptors - associated with general senses
a. touch, pressure, temperature, vibration, pain
2. complex receptors - associated with SPECIAL senses
a. smell, taste, sight, hearing, equilibrium
III. Classification of General Senses
A. Cutaneous (Skin) Senses
1. tactile (touch)
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a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

light touch - location not perceived

discriminative touch - location perceived
Merkel's discs - discriminative touch
Meissner's corpuscle - discriminative touch
organs of Ruffini - deep, continuous touch

2. pressure
a. felt over a large area than touch, deeper
b. Pacinian corpuscle - lower layer of dermis
3. vibration
a. detect high and low frequency vibrations
4. thermosensation
a. respond to hot/cold; may be free nerve endings
5. pain
a.
b.
c.

(nociception)
acute pain - very quick, not felt in deep areas
chronic pain - longer lasting, gradual increase
somatic pain - skin, muscles, joints
i. superficial -skin
ii. deep - muscle, joint, tendon, fascia
d. visceral pain - from receptors in organs
e. referred pain - projected to skin above organ

B. Proprioceptive (kinesthetic) Sense

1. function - position of limbs/body and equilibrium
2. muscle spindles
a. intrafusal fibers - inner muscle fibers
i. type Ia sensory fiber - in center
ii. type II sensory fiber - at ends
iii. gamma motor neurons - from ventral horn
b. extrafusal fibers - outer muscle fibers
i. alpha motor neurons - form ventral horn
3. Golgi (tendon) organs
a. at junction of tendon and muscle
4. Joint Kinesthetic receptors
a. within/around synovial joints
IV. Classification of Special Senses
A. Olfaction (smell)
1. olfactory cells - bipolar neurons in epithelium
2. olfactory glands - secrete mucus to clean epithelium
3. olfactory nerve (I) - axons of olfactory cells
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4. olfactory bulbs - brain region where (I) synapses

5. olfactory tract - axons from bulbs to cortex
B. Gustation (taste)
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gustatory cells - neuron with hairlike extension

taste buds - location of gustatory cells
facial nerve (VII) - anterior 2/3 of tongue
glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) - posterior 1/3
vagus nerve (X) - throat and epiglottis
-> medulla -> thalamus -> cortex

C. Vision
1. Accessory Structures of the Eye
a. eyebrows
b. eyelids (palpebrae)
i. levator palpebrae superioris muscle
ii. palpebral fissure
iii. lateral commissure
iv. medial commissure
v. lacrimal caruncle (lacrimal gland) crying
c. tarsal plate - inner wall of eyelid
d. tarsal glands - secrete oil
e. conjunctiva - mucous membrane of eyelid
f. eyelashes
g. lacrimal gland - for tear secretion
i. lacrimal ducts
ii. lacrimal puncta
iii. lacrimal sac
iv. nasolacrimal duct
2. The Structure of the Eyeball
a. fibrous tunic - outer coat of the eyeball
i. sclera - posterior portion
ii. cornea - anterior portion
b. vascular tunic (uvea) - middle layer
i. choroid - posterior, pigment/vasculature
ii. ciliary body - muscle shapes lens
iii. iris - colored part, with pupil (hole)
c. nervous tunic (retina) - posterior surface
i. photoreceptors (rods & cones)
ii. bipolar cells
iii. ganglion cells
d. lens - just behind pupil and iris
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3. Pathway of Light to the Brain

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b.
c.
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photoreceptors pick up the light

ganglion cells converge signals -> optic nerve
optic nerve -> lateral geniculate of thalamus
lateral geniculate -> occipital cortex

D. Hearing & Equilibrium

1. external ear
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

pinna (auricle) - Ross Perot

helix - rim of the pinna
lobule - your mate's favorite part
external auditory canal
ceruminous glands - love that earwax!
tympanic membrane (eardrum)

2. middle ear
a. tympanic antrum - chamber to air cells
b. auditory (Eustachian) tube - to nasopharynx
c. auditory ossicles - bones of middle ear
i. malleus - attached to tympanic membrane
ii. incus - intermediate bone
iii. stapes - stirrup
d. tensor tympani muscles - to malleus (protect)
e. stapedius muscle - to stapes (protect)
f. oval and round windows - to inner ear
3. inner ear (labyrinth)
a. bony labyrinth - has fluid called perilymph
i. vestibule
ii. cochlea
iii. semicircular canals
b. membranous labyrinth - has endolymph
c. vestibule - oval central portion body labyr.
i. utricle & saccule - two sacs
d. cochlea - sound organ, sounds are sensed here
e. semicircular canals - equilibrium in 3-D
4. Neural Pathway for Sound/Equilibrium Sensation
a. cochlea/vestibular -> vestibulocochlear (VIII)