Chemical Senses

(Smell and Taste)

Sense of Smell

Olfaction (also known olfactics or smell) refers to the sense of smell. This sense is
meditated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and sensory cells of
the antennae of invertebrates. For air breathing animals, the olfactory system detects volatile
or, in the case of accessory olfactory system, fluid-phrase chemicals. For water-dwelling
organism, e.g., fish or crustaceans, the chemicals are present in the surrounding aqueous
medium. Olfactory, along with taste, is a form of chemoreception. The chemicals themselves
which activate the olfactory system, generally at very low concentrations, are called odors.

Olfactory system or nerve is the first cranial nerve which conveys smell sensations from
nose to brain; nerve endings are specialize in detecting stimuli. Nerve fibers pass from the
receptors through tiny holes in the root of nasal cavity and comes together to form a bulb.

Sense of Taste

Gustatory sensation is the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and
throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus. The inability
is called ageusia.

Body Senses

Sense of Touch

It is a sense by which size, shape, surface, texture, temperature can be ascertained by

physically contact. Signals from touch receptors via sensory nerves to spinal cord then to
thalamus and on to the sensory cortex.

The largest part in our body is our skin. It weights from six to ten pounds. It is made of two
layers; the epidermis or the top layer, and the dermis or the bottom layer. The top part of
epidermis is a layer of dead skin cells. These flake off and are replaced all the time. The skin
contains hair follicles, nerve endings, sweat glands, and blood vessels. The skin is the main
organ of the sense of touch.

The skin is the outer covering of living tissue of an animal (or plant). It is the largest organ of
the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues, and guards the
underlying muscle, bones, ligaments, and internal organs.
Sense of pain
It is localized sensation ranging for mild to severe and excruciating experience stimulation
of these receptors leads to transmission of pain messages to brain.

Kinesthetic Sense

Kinesthesis refers to sensory input that occurs within the body. Postural and movement
information are communicated via sensory systems by tension and compression of muscles in
the body. Even when the body remains stationary, the kinesthetic sense can monitor its
position. Humans possess three specialized types of neurons responsive to touch and
stretching that help keep track of body movement and position. The first class, called Pacinian
corpuscles, lies in the deep subcutaneous fatty tissue and response to pressure. The second
class of neurons surrounds the internal organs, and the third class is associated with muscle,
tendons, and joints. The neurons work in concert with one another and with cortical neurons
as the body moves.

Sense of Balance and Acceleration

The vestibular system, which is a contributor to our balance system and our sense of spatial
orientation, is the sensory system that provides the dominant input about movement and
equilibrioception. Together with the cochlea, a part of the auditory system, it constitutes the
labyrinth of the inner ear, situated in the vestibulum in the inner ear. As our movements
consist of rotations and translations, the vestibular system comprises two components: the
semicircular canal system, which indicate rotational movements; and the otoliths , which
indicate linear translations. The vestibular system sends signals primarily to the neural
structures that control our eye movements, and to the muscles that keeps us upright. The
projections to the former provide the anatomical basis of the vestibule-ocular reflex, which is
required for clear vision; and the projections to the muscles that control our posture are
necessary to keep us upright.

Sense of Temperature

Thermoception is the sense of heat and the absence of heat (cold) by the skin and including
internal skin passages. The thermoceptors in the skin are quit different from the homeostatic
thermoceptors in the brain (hypothalamus) which provide feedback on internal body
temperature.