SENSORY SYSTEM (DRAFT)

A sensory system is a part of the nervous system consisting of sensory receptors that receive
stimuli from the internal and external environment, neural pathways that conduct this
information to the brain and parts of the brain that processes this information.
Both divisions gather information about your surroundings and what’s happening inside your
body. The sensation you experience, also called a stimulus, is captured by sensory receptors,
which receive the stimulus and convert them into nerve impulses that travel all the way through
sensory nerves to the brain for interpretation.
Sensory Organs
Sense Organ
Touch Skin (external organ)
Taste Tongue
Smell Nose
Hearing Ears
Sight Eyes

The central nervous system receives information from the internal and external environment via
the sensory organs. Sensory organs are able to “sense” this information because of specialized
receptors. When a receptor is triggered, it causes an action potential in the sensory neuron.
Types of sensory receptors
1. Mechanoreceptors – stimulated by changes in pressure or movement
Found in skin and muscles
2. Thermoreceptors – stimulated by changes in temperature
Found in skin
3. Pain receptors – stimulated by tissue damage
Found in skin and viscera
4. Chemoreceptors – stimulated by changes in chemical concentration of substances
Used for taste and smell
5. Photoreceptors – stimulated by light
Found only in the eye

PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SENSORY SYSTEM

1. THE SENSE OF TOUCH (TACTILE)
— Touch consists of several distinct sensations communicated to the brain through specialized
neurons in the skin. Pressure, temperature, light touch, vibration, pain and other sensations are all
part of the touch sense and are all attributed to different receptors in the skin.
— Senses of the skin perceived contact through five specialize cells located in the skin.
 Meissner's Corpuscles
 Pacinian Corpuscles
 End-bulbs of Krause
 Corpuscles of Ruffini
  Nociceptors

2. THE SENSE OF TASTE (GUSTATION)

— When a substance is put in the mouth, the substance is exposed to tiny receptors in the taste
buds.
—Receptors can distinguish between sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes.
— The anterior tip of the tongue is more responsive to sweet substances. Taste buds on the
anterior edges of the tongue are responsive to salty substances.
— Sour substance receptors are located on the lateral margins of the tongue, and receptors for
bitter substances are on the posterior midportion of the tongue.
— Papillae is where some taste buds are located in elevated connective tissue on the tongue.

3. THE SPECIAL SENSE OF SMELL (OLFACTION)

—The smell sensation is closely related to the sensation of taste.
—Olfactory sense receptors are located in the nasal epithelium in the superior part of the nasal
cavity on either side of the nasal septum.
—There are two kinds of cells in the nasal epithelium
 Supporting cells are shaped like columns and are located in the mucous membrane
lining of the nose.
 The olfactory cells lie between the supporting cells. .
— Sniffing or breathing increases the amount of gaseous substance, and the smell becomes
stronger. The sensory pathway sends signal to the Olfactory cells, then it transmit impulses from
the receptors over the olfactory nerve to the brain.

4. THE SENSE OF HEARING (AUDITORY)

—The human ear serves two major special sensory functions-- hearing (auditory) and
equilibrium (balance). Receptors for sound waves and receptors for equilibrium are located in the
ear.
—The ear is divided into three principal regions: the external (outer) ear, the middle ear, and the
internal (inner ear).
•External Ear - includes Pinna and Auditory Canal
•Middle Ear - includes Eardrum, Ossicles, Eustachian Tube
•Internal Ear - Semicircular Canals and Cochlea
— Equilibrium has two parts:
 Mechanoreceptors in the Semicircular Canals
 Little hair cells.

5. THE SENSE OF VISION (SIGHT)

— The most important sensory organ because 90% of the information about the environment
reaches the brain from the eyes.
— Movement of the eye is controlled by the intrinsic muscles.
A. The eyes are recessed in the bony cavities (the orbital cavities) of the skull with only the front
one-sixth of the eyeball's total surface area exposed. Bones protect each eyeball: the frontal,
maxillary, zygomatic, lacrimal, sphenoid, and palatine bones.
B. Tunics (Layers) of the Eyeball. The eyeball is composed of three layers called tunics: the
fibrous tunic, the vascular tunic, and the retina or nervous tunic.
C. Blood Vessels. The structures of the eye include blood vessels, layer vessels in the sclera, and
capillaries in the retina.
D. Cavities and Humor. The anterior cavity of the eye is anterior to the lens. The anterior cavity
contains the aqueous humor secreted by the ciliary body. This posterior cavity contains
gelatinous substances called vitreous humor which maintain the globular shape of the eyeball.
E. Muscles of the Eye. The structure of the eye includes the muscles of the eye--intrinsic muscles
and extrinsic muscles. Intrinsic muscles include the two involuntary muscles within the eye--the
iris and the ciliary muscles.

IMPORTANCE
The five senses are our link to the world around us.
Each of our senses uses its own detection system to get information from our surroundings. The
information is sent to the brain where it will be processed and combined to create a complete
sensory picture of our environment.
1. Sight: light and colour is detected by cells in the retina at the back of the eye.
2. Sound: hair cells in the ear move in response to specific frequencies of sound.
3. Taste: taste buds on the tongue react to salt, sour, bitter, sweet and umami tastes in our food.
4. Smell: special cells in the nose detect different chemicals in the air that we breathe in. We also
detect the flavors in food as air moves from our mouth up into the back of the nasal cavity.
5. Touch: various receptors in our skin can detect different types of touch, including pressure and
vibrations.
Our senses:
Are our connection to the world around us so we need them to perceive our environment and to
interact with other people
Can help with everyday tasks such as driving, talking to people, or performing activities at work
Are essential for our enjoyment of many experiences such as eating a meal or listening to music
Are closely connected to our emotions and memories so they can have a very dramatic impact on
how we feel.

DISEASE OR DISORDERS OF THE DIFFERENT SENSORY ORGANS:

NOSE
sinusitis, acute or chronic inflammation of the mucosal lining of one or more paranasal sinuses
(the cavities in the bones that adjoin the nose). Sinusitis commonly accompanies upper
respiratory viral infections and in most cases requires no treatment.
EYES:
Conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye, inflammation of the conjunctiva, the delicate mucous
membrane that lines the inner surface of the eyelids and covers the front part of the white of the
eye. The inflammation may be caused by a viral or bacterial infection. It can also be caused by a
chemical burn or mechanical injury, or it may be part of an allergic reaction.
EARS:
ear squeeze, also called Aerotitis, Aero-otitis, Barotitis, or Baro-otitis, effects of a difference in
pressure between the internal ear spaces and the external ear canal. These effects may include
severe pain, inflammation, bleeding, and rupture of the eardrum membrane. Underwater divers
and airplane pilots are sometimes affected.
The middle ear, the cavity behind the eardrum membrane, is connected with the nasal cavity
(nasopharynx) by a thin, narrow tube known as the eustachian tube. Under normal conditions,
when the external air pressure increases or decreases, air from the nose passes through the
eustachian tube to equalize the pressure in the middle ear cavity; often, however, the eustachian
tube becomes blocked by fluids from head colds, by small tumours, or by an excess of tonsillar
tissue around the opening.
TONGUE/TASTE
Dysgeusia is a taste disorder. People with the condition feel that all foods taste sour, sweet, bitter
or metallic. Dysgeusia can be caused by many different factors, including infection, some
medications and vitamin deficiencies. Treatment involves addressing the underlying cause of
dysgeusia.
SKIN/TOUCH
Paresthesia
The Paresthesia Is the tingling sensation of some extremity. It is almost always due to the
pressure of a nerve, a product of bad body posture or when you hit the elbow with relative force.
Less frequently, it may be due to the intake of some medication. It usually lasts for seconds or
minutes.
REFERENCES:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/sensory_system.htm
https://www.harleystreetent.com/blog/the-five-senses-and-why-they-are-important
https://www.britannica.com/browse/Diseases-of-the-Senses
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/
health/diseases/22047-dysgeusia%23:~:text%3DDysgeusia%2520is%2520a%2520taste
%2520disorder,the%2520underlying%2520cause%2520of
%2520dysgeusia.&ved=2ahUKEwiN5864tYX6AhW8mFYBHWlqC-
8QFnoECAcQBQ&usg=AOvVaw2jPBeOqHh8SfisMBKXkhew
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.lifepersona.com/the-13-
most-common-touch-disorders&ved=2ahUKEwiJ29rhtYX6AhVHtVYBHe9TC-
8QFnoECCoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3QtabH9t9fwGnOeg5VfDjy
https://byjus.com/biology/sense-organs/
https://www.visiblebody.com/learn/nervous/five-senses
https://humanbiology.pressbooks.tru.ca/chapter/10-7-human-senses/