BT101 – Introductory Biology

(SENSORY SYSTEMS-EAR/EYE)

Dr.Navin Gupta
Dept of BSBE,IIT Guwahati
Email:cngupta@iitg.ac.in

Acknowledgement:

Integrated Lecture from the lot of textbooks/websites

and yesteryears BT101 Lectures
References For this Lecture

1. Vanders: Human Physiology The Mechanisms of Body Function

BIRDS EYE VIEW OF LECTURE

a. EAR/Physiology of Hearing

b. EYE/ Sight
 Functions of Ear
• Hear
• Maintenance of body balance

❑ Humans normally hear sound frequencies between

approximately 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).

❑ The upper limit decreases with age.

❑ Dogs
❑ Elephants
❑ Whales
 Hearing
• Hearing is the ability to perceive sound.
• The ear is an engineering marvel because its sensory receptors can transduce sound
vibrations with amplitudes as small as the diameter of a gold atom (0.3 nm) into
electrical signals.
• In the ear, mechanical energy is converted into electrical signals.
• The signals are 1000 times faster than photoreceptors that can respond to light.
• The ear also contains receptors for equilibrium.
Anatomy of the Ear
• The ear is divided into
three main regions:
1. The outer or external ear,
which collects sound
waves and directs /
channels them inward
towards the middle ear.

2. The middle ear amplifies

(15-20 times) and
conveys sound vibrations
to the oval window.

3. The inner ear, which

houses the receptors for
hearing and equilibrium.
 Outer ear
▪ The outer ear consists of:
▪ auricle (pinna),
▪ external auditory canal, and
▪ eardrum (tympanic membrane).

▪ The auricle (pinna) is a flap of elastic cartilage (soft and

flexible connective tissue shaped like the flared end of a
trumpet and covered by skin.

▪ The external auditory canal is a curved tube that extends upto

the eardrum.

▪ The external auditory canal contains few hairs.

▪ The two exocrine glands of the external auditory canal are the
sebaceous (oil) glands and sudoriferous (ceruminous glands)
apocrine (sweat) glands that together form earwax or cerumen.

▪ The eardrum (tympanic membrane) is a thin partition between

the external canal and the middle ear.

▪ The eardrum is covered by epidermis (connective tissue).

 Earwax

❑ Earwax consists of shed skin cells, hair, and the secretions of

the ceruminous and sebaceous glands of the outside ear canal.

❑ Major components of earwax are long chain fatty acids, both

saturated and unsaturated, alcohols, squalene, and cholesterol.

❑ Excess or compacted cerumen can press against the eardrum

or block the outside ear canal or hearing aids, potentially
causing hearing loss.
Eardrum
 Middle ear
▪ The middle ear is the small
air-filled cavity that is lined by
the epithelium.

▪ Separated from external ear

by eardrum.

▪ Auditory ossicles:
▪ malleus, incus and stapes.

▪ The base of the stapes fits

into the oval window.

▪ Directly below the oval

window is another opening
called the round window.

▪ Muscles/ligaments limits
movements of ossicles to
protect inner ear from loud
noises.
Smallest bone in a human body???
 Inner ear
▪ The Inner ear is also called the labyrinth.

▪ Bony labyrinth (BL) and membranous labyrinth

(ML).

▪ BL contains perilymph and

▪ ML contains endolymph.
▪ The major cation in perilymph is sodium.
▪ The major cation in endolymph is potassium.

▪ The vestibule is the oval central portion of the BL.

▪ Utricle (little bag) and saccule (little sac).

▪ They are connected to the main duct through

ampulla (swollen enlargements).

▪ Vestibule houses sensory as well as motor neurons

that synapse with receptors for equilibrium.

▪ Anterior to vestibule is cochlea, a bony spiral canal.

Cochlea
 Physiology of Hearing
1. Sound waves that reach the ear are directed by the pinna into the external auditory canal to strike the tympanic
membrane.
2. When sound waves strike the eardrum (tympanic membrane) they cause it to vibrate back and forth.
3. The central area of eardrum is connected to the malleus which also start vibrating. These vibrations are passed on
to the oval window through incus and stapes.
4. As the stapes moves back and forth, it pushes the oval window in and out at an intensity 15-20 times more than the
eardrum.
5. The movement of the oval window pushes the perilymph of the scala vestibule (of the cochlea).
6. A wave of motion is set in perilymph.
7. The pressure thus created in the scala vestibule and tympani pushes the vestibular membrane inwards and
increases the pressure of the endolymph inside the cochlear duct. The pressure in the endolymph causes the
basilar membrane to vibrate. Hair cells are perturbed and electrical signal is generated from mechanical vibrations.
8. The basilar membrane gives the pressure under the resonance and bulges out into the scala tympani. Sound
waves of various frequencies cause certain regions of the basilar membrane to vibrate more intensely than other
regions. Each segment of this membrane is ‘tuned’ for a particular pitch.
9. This pressure then pushes the perilymph towards the round window, causing it to bulge back into the middle ear.
Conversely, as the sound waves subside, the stapes move backwards and the procedure is reversed.

❑ The movement of basilar membrane causes the movement of the hairs and develops action potential that
ultimately lead to the generation of nerve impulses.
❑ The impulses are then passed on to the cochlear branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
❑ They reach the medulla and from here to midbrain and thalamus to be finally relayed into the auditory area
of the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
The eye
 The eye
❑ Sensory organ of vision
❑ Resembles purely like a camera
❑ Globe or sphere of about 2.5 cm in diameter with a transparent membrane in the
front
❑ Is a complex optical system which
❑ collects light from the surrounding environment
❑ regulates its intensity through a diaphragm
❑ focuses it through an adjustable assembly of lenses to form an image
❑ converts this image into a set of electrical signals and
❑ transmits these signals to the brain through complex neural pathways that connect the eye via the
optic nerve to the visual cortex and other areas of the brain.

❑ Composed of three distinct coats:

❑ Sclera – outermost, thick connective tissue (anterior portion – cornea)
❑ Choroid – middle layer, vascular layer having blood vessels
❑ Retina – inner layer, contains photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)
➢ Photoreceptor cells, Ganglion cells, Bipolar (neurons) cells
 Fluid System of the EYE – Intraocular Fluid
✓ Keeps the eyeball round and distended by maintaining pressure.

✓ Two chambers: Aqueous and Vitreous

❑ Aqueous humor
➢ free flowing fluid between cornea and lens.
➢ nourishes the cornea and lens.

❑ Vitreous humor
➢ gelatinous mass with little flow of fluid between lens and retina.
➢ supports retina and lens
➢ gives shapes to the eye
➢ Refracts the light rays
➢ Maintains intraocular pressure inside the eye

❑ Glaucoma occurs when the aqueous humor does not drain properly, resulting in increased eye pressure and
blindness.

❑ Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness among the elderly. It can be corrected with eye drops that help drain
the aqueous humor or with surgery to enlarge the canal Schlemm
Human Eye: Structure & Function
 Lacrimal gland
❑ small almond shaped
❑ are the tear producing exocrine gland
❑ secrete the aqueous layer of the tear film
❑ Tears cleanse and lubricate the eye, and also
fight microogranisms.
❑ Secretes proteins (antibodies, cytotoxic
agents, and growth factors), electrolytes and
water, which helps to nourish and protect the
ocular surface.
❑ The lacrimal gland produces tears which
then flow into canals that connect to the
lacrimal sac. From that sac, the tears drain
through the lacrimal duct into the nose.
❑ A decrease or lack of lacrimal gland
secretion is the leading cause of aqueous
tear deficient dry eye syndrome (DES).

❑ The lacrimal ducts empty into the nasal cavity

this is why nose and eye irritation is often
linked.
 Macula
❑ Tiny area in the retina which is responsible for
clear and sharp vision.
❑ The small portion of the retina (about 5 mm) right
at its center is referred as the macula.
❑ The macula is responsible for the central, high-
resolution, color vision that is possible in good
light; and this kind of vision is impaired if the
macula is damaged, for example in macular
degeneration.
❑ This helps in seeing straight ahead (central vision)
and identifying the finer details through your direct
line of sight.
❑ Activities like reading, driving, color and face
recognition are possible due to the macula.
❑ The remaining ‘non-macular’ region of the retina
takes care of your side vision and night vision.

❑ People over 65 years of age serve as the prime

Healthy target zone for age-related macular degeneration
eye disease.
Blind Spot (Optic Disc)

❑contains no photoreceptors,
i.e. no rods or cones overlying the optic
disc.

❑entry point for the major blood vessels that

supply the retina.

❑represents the beginning of the optic nerve.

❑carries 1–1.2 million afferent nerve

fibres from the eye towards the brain.