UNIT 2 INTERACTION AND HEALTH

1. The senses and information

We interact with people and things around us using our sense organs. Sensory neurons transmit this information to
our brain.

1.1 Sense organs: SIGHT

- Light enters our eye through the cornea and the pupil.
- The iris controls the amount of light that enters the eye.
- The lens focuses the light. This allows images to be projected onto the retina at the back of the eye.
- Nerve receptors send this information along the optic nerve to our brain.

lens eyelid
iris retina

pupil iris
Optic
nerve

cornea
pupil
eyelash

1.2 Sense organs: HEARING

- Our ear has three parts: outer ear, middel ear and inner ear.
- Sound waves enter the ear through the auditory canal (outer ear). They make the eardrum and also the three
smal bones vibrate.
- The cochlea transforms the sound vibrations into electrical signals in the inner ear.
- The auditory nerve sends these signals to our brain.
- The semicircular canals help us keep our balance when we move.

Outer ear Middle ear Inner ear

Semicircular
canals
Auditory
nerve
Auditory canal
cochlea
eardrum

Three small bones

 1.3 Sense organs: SMELL
- This sense detects chemicals in the air. When air enters our nose through our nostrils, these chemicals come
into contact with nerve receptors.
- The nerve receptors send this information along the olfatory nerve to our brain.
1.4 Sense organs: TASTE
- Our taste buds are inside the papilae, the tiny bumps on our tongue. The taste buds have receptor cells.
- The receptor only detect different tastes (bitter, sour, salty, sweet and umami). Whe we eat or drink
something, our sense of smell works with our sense of taste to detect different flavours.

Olfatory nerve
Nerve receptors
nostril
Taste buds

tongue

Receptor cell

1.5 Sense organs: TOUCH

- The dermis is the middel layer of skin. It contains nerves and tiny blood vessels.
- These nerves detect sensations, for example temperature. The nerves send this information to our brain.

Dermis

Derves

Blood vessels

2. How we process information

Our five sense organs send information through the nervous system. The two main parts are: the central nervous
system and the peripheral nervous system.

2.1 The central nervous system

The central nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord.

2.1.1 BRAIN

The brain is the control centre of our body and has three parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum and the brain stem.
 - The skull protects the brain.
- The cerebrum is the biggest part of our brain and has two parts: the left and right hemispheres. It controls
our voluntary movements, for example dancing, and also controls our thoughts, emotions, laguage and
behaviour.
- The cerebellum controls and coordinates our movements and balance.
- The brain stem controls involuntary movements, for example breathing.

Skull

Cerebrum

Cerebellum
Brain stem

Spinal cord

2.1.2 SPINAL CORD

The spinal cord is connected to the brain stem. It extends down our spine.

- It controls reflex actions, for example pulling our hand away from a hot object.
- The vertebrae are the bones of the spine. They protect and support our spinal cord.

Spinal cord

Spine
Vertebrae
 2.2 The peripheral nervous system

The pirepheral nervous system connects the central nervous system with the rest of our body. It has a millions of
nerves that carry messages to and from the central nervous system.

a) Our sense organs receive a message and send information through sensory neurons to our brain.
b) Our brain receives the information and decides how to respond.
c) Motor neurons carry the message from the brain to out body and muscles. Our body reacts after it receives
and instruction from the brain.
2.3 Neurons

There are millions of nerve cells in the nervous system, this cell call neurons. A neuron has a cell body and two types
of projections, dendrites and axons.

Dendrites

Axon

Soma

3. How our body respones

The locomotor system includes the skeleton, joints and muscles and these all helps us move. Our brain sends
messages to our muscles, telling the to contract or relax. The locomotor system is also called the musculoskeletal
system.

3.1 The skeleton

Our skeleton supports, gives shape to our body and protects our internal organs.

The skeleton includes bones and cartilage. Bones are made of hard bone tissue. Cartilage is made of softer, more
flexible tissue.

There are different types of bones:

4. Short and wide bones give support and stability.

5. Flat and thin bones protect the internal organs.
6. Long and strong bones help us move.

If you have an accident or fall, you can do a fracture (is a broken bone) or a dislocation (is whe a bone moves from its
normal position in a joint.
Sternum

Vertebrae

Patella
 6.1 Joints

Bone are connected at the joints by ligaments. There is cartilage at the end of each bone to protect it. Ligaments are
strong but we can damage them badly. A sprain is a torn ligament.

There are three types:

7. Fixed do not move, for example skull.

8. Semi-flexible can move a littlle, for example vertebrae.
9. Flexible can move a lot, for example elbows, knees…

The most flexible is the shoulder.

Ligaments

9.1 Muscles

There are more than six hundred in our body. Muscles hold the skeleton together and give our body shape. There are
two types of muscles: voluntary ( you can choose to move a voluntary muscle) or involuntary (you moves muscles
automatically.
 Frontal muscles

Deltoids Trapezius
Pectorals muscles

Dorsal muscles
Biceps

Oblique muscles triceps

gluteus

Biceps femoris
Quadriceps

Calf muscles

9.2 Tendons

Tendons are tissues that connect muscles to bones. The strongest tendon is the achilles ´ tendon.