Presented by Mr.

Kosgei
 Terminologies involved:
Irritability – is the ability of living organisms to perceive / detect and
respond / react to he changes in their immediate environment

Note: irritability has survival value to the involved organism

Stimuli (singular- stimulus) - are changes in the organisms environment
that trigger a change in the behavior of the organism

Stimuli include:
 Temperature
 salinity
 light intensity
 chemicals
 pH,
Note: humidity
Stimuli e.t.c
invoke responses in organisms by affecting respective receptors
Continuation……
 Response – is the reaction of an organism in relation to the
induced stimulus; such reactions serves to increase the
organisms survival chances by adjusting to the changes in
the environment

 Receptors – are specialized group of cells capable of
detecting changes in the organism’s environment
 Receptors include:
 Thermo receptors – for detecting changes in temperature
 chemo receptors – for detecting changes in the chemical
composition of the environment
 Osmoreceptors – for detecting changes in the osmotic
pressure
 photo receptors – for detecting changes in light intensity

Continuation……
 Effectors – are a specialized group of cells that
produce response in living organisms.
Effectors include:
 Muscle cells
 Glandular cells
 Meristematic cells etc.

 Environment – is the surrounding of a cell or the

entire organism; there are internal environment
and the external environment
 The concept of irritability
 Irritability is accomplished through the following
elements; stimulus, receptors, coordinators and
effectors as illustrated below:

Sensory interpreted
Receptors Coordinators Effectors
information information

stimulus Response

Need for irritability

o Enables organisms to detect favourable changes in the environment in order
to derive maximum benefit from it
o Enables organisms to adjust to their environment
 Co-ordination in simple organisms
 Simple organisms like protozoa, motile algae, annelids and
insect larvae respond to a variety of stimuli by either
moving away or towards the stimulus
 Such locomotory responses involving motile cellular or
simple multicellular organisms are called tactic responses
or taxes

 Positive and negative responses

 A response is said to be positive when it is tended
toward the direction of the stimulus and negative when
it is tended away from the direction of stimulus

 Types of Tactic responses
 Taxes: are locomotory responses involving motile
cells (e.g. gametic cells) or the whole organism to a
unidirectional stimulus.
 Tactic responses include:
 i). Phototaxis:
 Is the Locomotory response by a motile cell or
organism to variation in light intensity
 Phototaxis is portrayed by organisms such as
 euglena, chlamydomonas and spirogyra –that move
towards light (positively phototactic)
 woodlice, maggots, and some termites –that move
away from light (negatively phototactic)
phototaxis
 Practical activity
Aim:
 to investigate Phototaxis in fly maggots

Requirements:
 maggots in litter
 small carton box (for making Choice chamber)
 Translucent lid half of which is covered with a dark cloth or Aluminium
foil

Procedure:
 make a choice chamber containing both the lighted and dark regions
 place ten fly maggots into the chamber placing five on each region
 place the lid on the box and allow the fly maggots to disperse freely for
a bout 20 minutes
 remove the lid and observe the distribution of the maggots in the
chamber
Continuation…..
Transparent lid Blackened cloth Transparent lid Blackened cloth

Lighted region Dark region Lighted region Dark region

Maggots Maggots
At the beginning of experiment At the end of 20 minutes
Continuation…
 Observation:
 All the maggots moved to the dark region of the
chamber after 20 minutes
 Conclusion:
 the fly maggots are negatively phototactic

Survival value:
 Positive phototaxis – enables the photosynthetic
cells to move to regions with high light intensity
for photosynthesis

 Negative phototaxis - enables the organisms to

move away from light to avoid being preyed on or
being dehydrated (light is associated with some
heat)
 ii). Aerotaxis:
 Is the locomotory response to variation in oxygen
concentration; organisms such as amoeba moves to
places with high oxygen concentration
 Survival value:
 Aerotaxis enables aerobic organisms to avoid
suffocation by seeking oxygen for respiration

 iii). Rheotaxis:
 Locomotory response to variation in air or water
current
 Survival value:
 Fishes and planarian move against water current
(negatively rheotactic) for maximum uptake of oxygen
 butterflies and moths fly against air current (negatively
rheotactic) to be able to detect flower scent
 Chemotaxis:
iv).
Is the locomotory response to variation in concentration of
certain chemical substances.

Survival value:
Facilitates the process of mating and fertilization e.g. male
gamete move towards the female gamete to facilitate
fertilization e.g.
 male bee moving towards the queen for mating (positive
chemotactic response)
 spermatozoa moving towards ovum in animals,
antherozoids moving towards archegonia in bryophytes
these are positively chemotactic
 enables an organism to escape harmful chemicals e.g.
 mosquitoes moving away from insect repellant (negative
chemotactic response)

 v). Osmotaxis:
 Locomotory response to variation in osmotic pressure

 Survival value:
 enables organism to escape harmful effect of increased osmotic
pressure in its environment e.g. marine crabs burrowing deep in the
sand to avoid dilution of their body fluids during times of low tides

 vi). Hydrotaxis:
 Is a locomotory response to variations in moisture.
 Earth worms move towards regions with high moisture content in the
soil hence are positively hydrotactic

 Survival value:
 enables animals to keep their body surfaces moist for efficient
gaseous exchange and also avoid dehydration of their cells
 vii). Thermotaxis:
 Is the locomotory response to variation in
temperature of environment.
 Animals require moderate temperatures to
facilitate the enzyme controlled processes in
their body e.g.
 Paramecia moves from areas with temperature
lower than 150c to areas with temperature about
250c
 Termites move away from hot areas
 Co-ordination in Plants
 Most plant responses are growth related.

 Parts of plants grow towards or away from particular

stimuli in their environment

 The growth responses portrayed by plants are called

tropisms or tropic responses

 There are either positive tropic responses or negative

tropic responses

 What is meant by tropic responses?
 Tropic responses are growth curvatures portrayed by plant
parts in relation to unidirectional stimuli.
Control of growth responses in plants
 Plant growth responses are co-ordinated by plant growth
hormones such as auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins and
florigens
 Auxins are group of plant hormones the most common and
naturally occurring is indole acetic acid(iaa)
 Auxins are produced in the apical meristem tissues of the
shoot and other growing areas of the plant
 They diffuse to the zone of cell elongation where they exert
their influence
 Some amount of auxins are translocated through the phloem
tissue toward the roots
 Auxins stimulate growth in both shoots and roots; roots
however require very small concentration of the auxins to
stimulate growth as compared to the shoot
 The amount of auxins that normally stimulate growth in shoot
will inhibit growth in the roots because roots are generally
more sensitive to auxins than the shoot
 Note: tropic responses are generally slow since
they are controlled by plant hormones
 Types of tropic responses
 i). Phototropism:
 Phototropism is plant growth curvature in response to light
 shoots are positively phototropic while roots are negatively
phototropic

 Role of auxins in phototropism

 under diffuse light condition, the auxins produced by plants shoot
apex is translocated uniformly downwards resulting into uniform
growth rate in the region of cell elongation
 when a shoot is however exposed to unidirectional source of light,
the shoot tip curves and grows towards the source of light; this is
because light causes lateral migration of auxins from the lit side
to the darker side of the shoot

 the high concentration of auxins on the darker side of the shoot
stimulates faster growth rate on that side than the illuminated
side hence the shoot curves and grows towards the light source
Illustration……..
 Practical activity
To investigate the effect of unilateral light on growth of a
seedling
 Requirement:
 Maize / bean seeds
 Two small empty containers with soil

Procedure:
 grow some seedlings in each of the containers
 moisten the soil
 place one container where there is diffuse light
 place the other container in a dark box with a small opening on
one side to allow light into the box
 allow the setups to remain undisturbed for about 5-6 days
 note the observations in both set ups after 3 days and after
5days
 Illustration….

Questions:
1. Give a brief account of the observations made in the
setups after 5 days

2. What is the purpose of the setup that was placed in

diffuse light?
 ii). Geotropism:
Geotropism is the plant growth curvature in response to gravity
Plant shoots are negatively geotropic while the roots are
positively geotropic

Role of auxins in geotropism

 When a seedling is placed horizontally in the dark (why place
in the dark?) It is noted that the shoot bends upwards while
the roots bend downwards; this is due to the effect of
gravitational force on the auxin distribution.
 Gravity causes more auxins diffuse to the lower surface of
the plants axis; the high concentration of auxins on the lower
surface of the shoot thus stimulates faster growth on that
side than the upper surface, hence causing the shoot to bend
upwards
 The high concentration of auxins on the lower surface of the
roots however inhibits growth on that surface hence faster
growth occur on the upper surface than the lower, causing
the root to bend downwards
Illustration…..
Experiment to investigate response of seedling to
gravity
Practical activity
 Effect of gravity on a seedling can be
investigated using an apparatus called Klinostat
 A Klinostat works on clocks mechanism; when the
machine is started, it rotates slowly thus
distributing auxins uniformly along the plant axis
Requirement:
 Bean seedlings with roots about 1cm long
 Klinostat
 Beaker and cork
 Procedure:
 Put some moist cotton wool on the cork of the klinostat disc (this
will keep the seedling moist)
 prepare a cork to fit the mouth of a beaker and put some moist
cotton wool on one side of the cork
 pin two seedlings on the klinostat disc as shown on the diagram (a)
below
 similarly pin two seedlings on the cork of the beaker as shown in
the diagram (b) below (this acts as a control experiment)
 Arrange the setups in a horizontal position.
 switch on the klinostat and leave the setup for two days
 observe the seedlings in the two setups and record your
observations

 Note: set the beaker in horizontal position using a retort stand

Illustration….
Questions:
1. Draw the diagrams to show the appearance of seedlings
in the two setups after the experiment
2. Give a brief account of the observations made on the
growth of seedlings in setups after 2 days
 setup (a)
 setup (b)
3. It is recommended that the experiment be carried out in
the dark. Explain why?
4. What is the purpose of the setup (b) in this experiment?

iii). Haptotropism / thigmotropism
Haptotropism is a plant growth curvature in response to
contact with a solid object; usually portrayed by the
tendrils or climbing stems
 tendrils or stems of some plants tend to twine around
objects
 root tips portray negative Thigmotropism since they
tend to avoid solid obstacles such as rocks

Role of auxins in Haptotropism

 When a climbing stem or tendrils of a plant comes in
contact with a suitable hard object; touch causes
auxins to diffuse to the outer (opposite) side of the
stem
 this causes that side to grow faster than the side in
contact with the hard object hence the shoot coils
around the object as it grow
thigmotropism
 Other tropic responses
 i). Hydrotropism
 Hydrotropism is the plant growth curvature
in response to water or moisture
 plant roots are positively hydrotropic

 ii). Chemotropism
 are plant growth curvature in response to
certain chemicals
 plant roots are positively chemotropic as
they grow towards certain chemicals

 Survival values for tropic responses
 Positive phototropism enables plants shoots and leaves
to be exposed well for absorption of maximum
sunlight for photosynthesis
 Haptotropism enables climbing plants to obtain
support from woody plants; it also enables climbers to
expose their leaves above the canopy for maximum
absorption of light for photosynthesis
 Positive geotropism enables plant roots to grow
downwards into the soil for anchorage, absorption of
water and mineral salts
 Positive hydrotropism enables the roots to reach for
the moisture in the soil
 Chemotropism enables the pollen tube to grow through
the style to the embryo sac hence facilitating
fertilization
 Apical dominance
 Apical dominance is a condition in plants where the growth and
development of the apical bud / terminal bud (at the stem apex)
prevents the development of the lateral buds into side branches
 Apical dominance is caused by presence of high concentration of
indole acetic acid (IAA) at the stem apex; IAA is produced by the
apical bud and inhibits the sprouting of lateral buds into side
branches hence the plant gains height but with few branches
 When the apical bud is removed e.g. During pruning the source of
auxins (IAA) is removed hence encouraging the development of
lateral buds into side branches

 Note: applied in agriculture e.g. pruning tea and coffee tree to form
bushes thus increasing yield; roses, cypress and bougainvillea form
good hedges when pruned

Reception, coordination and response in animals
In higher animals – irritability is accomplished by a complex and
highly interacting network of nervous system and hormonal system
collectively known as neuro–endocrine system

The nervous system

 The nervous system comprises of the nerve tissues.
 A nerve cell (neurone) is the basic functional unit of the nervous
system; it is a modified cell to transmit impulses within the body.
 A nerve impulse is an electrical signal transmitted/passed along a
nerve fibre.
 A group of neurones of the same type bundled together in a
connective tissue sheath is called a nerve.

There are two types of nerves;

 Cranial nerves which arise from the brain
 spinal nerves which arise from the spinal cord.
A generalized structure of a neuron
Functions and adaptation of various parts of a neurone
Cell body/Centron
It is an enlarged part of a neurone which contains the
nucleus.
 it Nourishes the entire cell
 it Controls the activities of the nerve cell
 it receives impulses from the dendron

Adaptations
 the cell body contain nissl’s granules and RNA hence are
involved in protein synthesis
 Nissl’s granules provides macromolecules which are used
as source of energy for the cell
Dendron / dendrite
Dendron's are Cytoplasmic extension that arises from the
cell body to the receptors.
 They conduct impulses towards the cell body of a
neurone.
 Each dendron has several terminal branches called
Dendrites which receive impulses from many different
receptors.
 A cell body may have numerous Dendron's.
Adaptations
 Each dendrite forms microscopic junctions called
synapses with other neurones.
 The terminal end of the dendrite is modified into a club
shaped structure called synaptic knob which contains
neurotransmitter substances and mitochondria.
Axon
Is also called the nerve fibre; is a single
projection from the cell body of a neurone
 it conveys impulses away from the cell body
of one neuron to the other or to the
effector
 Each neuron has only one axon which may in turn
have several dendrites.
Adaptations
 it has axoplasm which contain Na+, K+ and
organic anions that aid in impulse transmission

Schwan cell / myelin sheath
Schwan cell lies in close contact with the nerve fibre (such cells are
called neuroglia)
 It is surrounded by the neurilemma (a membrane of the Schwann
cell) and forms a fatty envelope around the axon and sometime
Dendron's of some neurones
Myelin sheath is a made up of a fatty substance secreted by the
Schwann cell Note:
Myelin sheath is interrupted at regular intervals (about one millimeter)
by indentations called nodes of Ranvier which serve to speed up nerve
impulse transmission
Function:
 it insulates the nerve fibre from leakage of electrical signals
(impulses)
 it protects the delicate nerve fibre from mechanical stress
 it facilitates the transmission of impulses along the nerve fibre
State the functions of the parts of a motor neuron
 Receptive dendrite – to receive impulses
 Dendron – to transmit impulses to cell body
 Cell nucleus – to control cellular process
 Cell body – to produce cellular materials
 Axon – to transmit the impulse to the muscle
 Myelin sheath – to insulate the axon
 Schwan cell nucleus – to produce the myelin
sheath
 Terminal dendrite – to transmit the impulse into
the muscle
 Types of neurones
There are three types of neurones i.e.

Sensory neurone (afferent neurone)

Motor neurone (efferent neurone /

effector neurone)

Intermediate neurone (relay neurone /

interneuron /association neurones)
 Sensory neurone
 Transmits impulses from the receptors in the sensory organs to the
central nervous system
 Its cell body is located off the fibre but outside the central
nervous system
 A collection of sensory neurones make up the sensory nerve
 Motor neurone

 Transmits impulses from the central nervous

system to the effectors i.e. Muscles and glands

 Its cell body is located at one end of the axon

usually in the central nervous system while the
motor end terminates in the effector organs

 A collection of motor neurones makes up the

motor nerve
Motor neurone
 Relay neurone

 The entire cell is located in the central nervous

system in the grey matter
 They are non-myelinated and normally short
 They link the sensory and motor neurone several
synapses
 They convey impulses between the sensory neurone
and the motor neurone
Relay neurone
Direction impulses
 Transmission of nerve impulses
 A nerve impulse is an electrical charge / wave resulting from the
disturbance of the ionic concentration across the surface of a nerve
fibre.

 The outer surface of a nerve fibre normally has sodium ions (Na+) while
the inner surface has potassium ion(K+), chloride ions and organic anions;
this distribution of charges makes the outside of the membrane to be
positive while the inside is relatively negative. Such a membrane is said to
be polarized

 When no impulse is being transmitted by the fibre, it is said to posses

a resting potential hence the membranes remains polarized.

 When the nerve fibre is stimulated, its membrane is disturbed at the

point of stimulation resulting into migration of sodium ions from outside
of the membrane into the axoplasm while the potassium ions and chloride
ions diffuses out of the axoplasm; this sets up a localized change in the
electrical potential between the outside and the inside of the membrane
leading to depolarization of the membrane; the fibre is then said to have
action potential

 The localized charge stimulates the membrane adjacent to it resulting

into propagation of the impulse along the fibre
Resting potential polarized

Note: depolarization is usually followed immediately by a recovery phase where the

sodium ions are actively pumped out of the axoplasm by a sodium pump
Action potential/ depolarized
 Synapse
 A synapse is a microscopic junction between the dendrites of two
adjacent neurones or a motor neurone and a muscle endplate

The structure of the synaptic knob

 At the synapse the dendrite forms club shaped structure called
synaptic knob, the synaptic knob is bound by synaptic membrane
 The membranes of adjoining neurones enclose a gap called synaptic
cleft; transmission across of the impulse across this gap is
achieved through chemical substances called neurotransmitter
substances.
 The synaptic knob on a dendrite in the side from where impulses
are coming is called pre-synaptic knobs while the one a dendrite of
the other neurone is called post synaptic knob.
 The pre synaptic knob has synaptic vesicles containing a chemical
called acetylcholine or Nor adrenaline which are the
neurotransmitter substances
 The knob also has numerous mitochondria that provides energy
needed for transmission of impulse across the synapse
Synapse
Impulse transmission across synapse
Mechanism of impulse transmission across the synapse
 When an impulse arrives at the pre-synaptic knob, it
stimulates the mitochondria to release energy
which is used to move synaptic vesicles towards the
pre-synaptic membrane
 The synaptic vesicles fuses with the pre-synaptic
membrane and discharges the neurotransmitter
substance (acetylcholine) into the synaptic cleft
 The acetylcholine diffuses across the synaptic cleft
to the post-synaptic membrane and causes it to
became permeable to sodium ions (Na+)
 Sodium ions migrates into the post synaptic knob
causing it to be depolarized resulting into an action
potential; the action potential is transmitted as an
impulse along the next neurone
Continuation…….
Functions of the synapse
 Allows unidirectional transmission of
impulses (acts as a valve for the
electrical signals)

 Forms a junction where two or more

neurones join

 Filters off weaker impulses a condition

known as temporal summation
The Structure of mammalian nervous system
The mammalian nervous system is divided into two main parts:
 Central nervous system(CNS) – which comprises of the brain, the
spinal cord and the associated nerves;
The central nervous system coordinates various activities of the body
 Peripheral nervous system (PNS) – which comprises of all the
nerves serving body organs;
The peripheral nervous system is further divided into
 Autonomic nervous system (ANS) – which is a branch from the
peripheral nervous system that innervates the visceral body
organs e.g. The heart, gut blood vessels, glands etc.; It controls
the involuntary activities of the internal organ through the
sympathetic system and parasympathetic system
 Somatic nervous system which is a branch from the peripheral
nervous system that innervates the skeletal muscles; it controls
the voluntary activities of the body such as movement, talking
etc.
Autonomic Nervous System
 The central nervous system
The central nervous system is made
up of the following components:

The brain
The spinal cord
Associated nerves
 i.
The brain
 Is a delicate nervous organ located in the anterior part of the spinal cord
 It is enveloped in a system of protective membrane called the meninges and
enclosed in a hard bony structure called the skull / cranium

The meninges is differentiated into:

Dura matter
it is a tough outer membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord; it protects
the underlying tissues from mechanical damage
 it is made up of connective tissues and dense network of capillaries

Pia matter
 is the innermost covering of the brain and the spinal cord
 it comprises of blood capillaries and lymph vessels
 it is thin and fairly delicate

Arachnoid
 is a narrow space between the Dura matter and the pia matter
 it is filled with cerebrospinal fluid
 it allows exchange of materials between the brain cells and the blood; and also
serves as a shock absorber
 General functions of the brain
Receives input from the sensory neurones and
directs activity of the motor neurones

Associates appropriate sensory stimuli to

motor responses

Stores information about past experiences

leading to modification of behaviour pattern
(learning experience)
Structure and functions of various parts of the brain
The mammalian brain is divided into 3 main
parts i.e.

 The fore brain (cerebrum)

 The mid brain (corpora quadrigemia)
 Pituitary gland
 The hind brain
Parts of a brain
Human brain
Cerebral hemispheres
 Regions of the brain are;
 Olfactory lobe – responsible for smell
 Cerebral hemispheres -It is highly developed part and centres for coordination i.e
 Integrates sensory impulses e.g hearing, taste, vision and smell
 Controls voluntary body movements (i.e. Lips, neck)
 Coordinates learning, memory and personality
 Responsible for intelligence.

 Pituitary gland – a master endocrine gland. Controls activities of other endocrine

glands

 Thalamus: relay centre containing receptors for pain and pleasure.

 It transmit impulses from sense organs to cerebral cortex.

 Hypothalamus concerned with homeostasis (thermoregulation, osmoregulation),

Controls appetite and sleep.
 It also controls endocrine gland (pituitary gland)
 Cerebellum- important in muscular control(swimming , running) and body balance

 Medulla oblongata, concerned with reflex actions and coordinates vital activities
like heart rate, breathing, swallowing, salivation and vomiting.
 It also controls dilation or constriction of blood vessels thus influencing blood
pressure.
 ii. The spinal cord
Is the posterior extension from the brain to the tail
It is enclosed in the meninges and protected by the spinal column /
vertebral column

The structure of the spinal cord

 It has a tubular cross section with a central H-shaped grey matter
surrounding a central canal / spinal canal; the central canal is filled
with cerebrospinal fluid
 The grey matter is made up of numerous cell bodies and dendrites
of the relay and motor neurones hence giving it the grey appearance
 the grey matter is surrounded by the white matter which comprises
of numerous axons of the sensory and motor neurones whose fatty
myelin sheath gives it the white appearance
 there are ventral and dorsal roots arising from the lateral sides of
the spinal cord; the dorsal root carries the sensory neurones while
the ventral root carries the motor neurones

Parts of a spinal cord
 Functions of the spinal cord
 Generates spinal reflex actions; reflex actions are rapid
automatic responses of an organism certain to stimuli

 It relays motor impulses from the brain to various

effector organs bringing about both voluntary and
involuntary actions

 It relays various sensory impulses to and fro the brain

through the ascending and the descending tracts

 Reflex actions
Reflex actions are rapid automatic responses of an organism to certain
stimuli

Types of reflex actions

 simple reflex action also called the spinal reflex
 conditioned reflex action also called learned reflex

 a) Simple reflex action

 It is a specific single and automatic response to a particular
stimulus.
 Simple reflex actions do not involve the brain hence do not depend
on learning
 Simple reflex actions are protective in nature since they prevent
damage to body organs

 A reflex arc
A reflex arc – is the pathway showing how nerve impulses are
transmitted during a reflex action; it is made up basically of
three neurones as illustrated below
 Illustration of reflex path way

Spinal cord
Sensory Motor
Receptors (Relay
neurone Effectors
neurone neurone)
Examples of simple reflex actions
Blinking of eye when an object approaches
Withdrawal of the hands form hot
objects
Coughing or sneezing
Salivation on sight of food
Swallowing
Knee jerk
Dilation and constriction of pupil as a
result of changes in light intensity

Describe the events leading to the withdrawal of
the hand from a pin (8mks)

Withdrawal of hand from a painful stimulus

 When the finger is pricked, the pain receptors in the skin
of the finger are stimulated; this triggers off nerve
impulses; which are transmitted to the spinal cord through
the sensory neurones;

 The impulse are passed from the sensory neurone to the

relay neurones; across a synapse; then to the motor
neurones across another synapse; The motor neurone then
conveys the impulses through the ventral root to the
biceps muscles; the biceps muscles contracts and the arm
is withdrawn from the painful stimuli;
b
b) Conditioned reflex action
 Is a rapid and automatic response which can be
evoked from an animal by an unrelated stimulus
substituted for one which normally produces the
response
 Conditioned reflex is formed from past experience
and usually involves modification of behavior through
learning.
Pavlov's experiment
 A dog normally salivates when it sees or smells food as it
is presented to it; when the bell is rung the dog does not
respond to it by salivating
 However when a bell is rung just before the food is
presented to the dog and the procedure repeated each
time food is brought to it, the dog soon learns to
associate the sound of bell to food; it therefore
salivates as soon as it hears the sound of the bell
whether food is presented to it or not.
 This experiment was carried out by a Russian scientist
by the name Ivan Pavlov
Pathways for conditioned reflexes
Conditioned reflex normally involves two
pathways i.e.

a) Original pathway (primary pathway)

a) learned pathway (secondary pathway)

i) Primary pathway

Olfactory receptors Sensory

in the sensory organs neurone
for smell

Smell area

Motor area
Effectors(salivary Motor
glands in the mouth) neurone
ii )Secondary Pathways

sound receptors in the Sensory

sensory organs for hearing neurone

Association area

Motor area
Effectors(salivary glands in Motor
the mouth) neurone
 Importance of conditioned reflex
It is reinforced by repeated stimulus hence leads to learning

Applications of conditioned reflexes:

 Walking
 Playing
 Cycling
 Writing
 Swimming
driving
 Training dogs
 Advertisement
 Learning process

Differences between simple reflex and conditioned
reflex
SIMPLE REFLEX ACTION CONDITIONED REFLEX
ACTION
 Simple application of stimulus needed Stimulus repeatedly applied to cause
to cause response response

 ( in born) , automatic response Is learned , automatic response

 Response is immediate Response takes time due to learning
 The response has a survival value to The response has no survival value to
 the stimulus the neutral stimulus

 Response does not depend on Response dependent on previous

experience experience
 Impulses pass through a simple reflex The impulse pass through reflex arc
arc. The brain is not involved which involves the brain

 Always constant Can be reinforced through rewards or

punishment – although weaken with time
Differences between simple reflex
actions and voluntary actions
REFLEX RESPONSES VOLUNTARY RESPONSES
Responses are rapid and automatic Responses are delayed

Responses may involve both Responses involves only the

voluntary and involuntary muscles voluntary (skeletal) muscles

Responses are initiated from the Responses are initiated from the
spinal cord brain
A particular stimulus produces A particular stimulus may produce
same responses all the time varying responses according to
circumstances
The pathways involved are shorter The pathways involved is long

Impulses are conveyed to and fro Impulses

the spinal cord alone
 Is also known as the endocrine system; the hormonal system
offers an alternative system of co-ordination in animals

Organization of the hormonal system

 Endocrine system comprises of the following ;
 Glands – these are a group of specialized cells which secret
hormones and other chemical substances in the body;
 Target organs – these are organs that detect and respond to
different hormones e.g. sweat glands, mammary glands, gastric
glands etc.
 Hormones – these are organic compounds which are secreted by
endocrine glands whose function is to regulate certain physiological
activity in the body of an organism

 Types of glands
There are two types of glands i.e. the endocrine glands and the
exocrine glands
i) Endocrine glands
Are glands that secrete their content directly into the bloodstream
for transport to the target organs (endocrine means within)
Endocrine glands lack ducts hence are sometimes called ductless
glands.
Examples of endocrine glands in mammals:
 Hypothalamus
 Placenta
 Pancreas
 Pituitary gland
 Thyroid gland
 Adrenal gland
 Testes
 Ovaries
 ii) Exocrine glands
Are glands which channel their secretions to the
target area through ducts; they are therefore
also called duct glands
Exocrine glands are mainly concerned with the
secretion of digestive juices
Examples of exocrine glands
Salivary glands
Pancrease
Gastric gland
Liver
 iii) Compound glands
 Are glands that have both endocrine and exocrine
portions e.g. the pancrease

Properties of hormones
 hormones are specific i.e. they affect only a specific
target organ
 hormones are proteins or steroids (are organic
compounds)
 hormones are chemical messengers
 hormones regulate specific activity
 Role of hormones in the body
 Regulation of growth and development e.g.
somatotropin

 Controls the behaviour of an organism e.g

adrenaline (flight or fight

 Controls courting and mating behaviour (breeding)

 Ensures proper functioning of the cell

Endocrine glands include the following:
Pituitary gland

It has the following hormones

 Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) which stimulates water
reabsorption in the kidney nephrons
 Tropic hormones (somatotropin) which controls growth
can cause dwarfism
 Thyrotrophic hormone – controls production of thyroxin
gland and can cause retardation of physical and mental
development e.g. Metamorphosis in amphibians.
 Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) stimulates the
activity of adrenal cortex

Continuation…
 Gonadotrophic hormones e.g. Interstitial cell
stimulating hormones ( ICSH) which stimulates the
testes to produce testosterone ,
luteinizing hormone ( LH) stimulates the formation of the
corpus luteum in the ovary after ovulation of the follicle
stimulating hormone ( FSH) which a stimulates the growth
of ovarian follicles and hence , secretion of oestrogens
Other growth hormones are thyrotrophic and prolactin
 Thyroid gland – it secretes the hormone thyroxines
which contain iodine and its role is to regulate the
metabolic rate.
 It can cause retardation of physical and mental
development ( cretinism) in excess leads to high
metabolic rate, rapid heartbeat and goiter
Continuation…
 Pancreases (islets of Langerhans – it secretes insulin and
glucagon.
 Both insulin and glucagon are used to control blood sugar
level. Insulin lowers, while glycogen raises blood sugar
level. Insulin causes hyperglycaemia ( high blood pressure)
diabetes mellitus while glucagon cause hypoglycaemia ( low
blood pressure )
 Adrenal glands – they secrete the following hormones ;-
 Adrenalin- which changes glycogen into sugars / glucose
which can be used to generate more energy e.g. incase of
fear, strain, shock, it increase heartbeat etc.
 Hydrocortisone which is a change of metabolism of
carbohydrates , lipids and proteins
Continuation…
 Aldosterone promotes retention of sodium chloride and
bicarbonate ions which makes kidney to excrete too
much sodium, chloride and bicarbonate
 Gonads – this gland produces androgens and oestrogens
hormones which develop secondary sexual
characteristics. Excess lead to male development of
female characteristics.
 Ovaries are female reproductive organs which produce
sex hormones (oestrogens), responsible for secondary
sex characters, menstruation and changes in pregnancy.
 Testis (interstitial cells) – is a male reproductive organ
which reproduces sex hormones (androgens),
responsible for secondary sex characteristics and
testosterone which promotes spermatogenesis also.
State functional differences between
endocrine and nervous system
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Responses are usually slow Responses are usually fast
 Message is made up of The message is an electrical
chemical substance impulse

 Duration of response usually Duration of response usually

long- lasting e.g. Growth short – lived

 Hormones reach all parts of Nerve impulses are transmitted

the body through nerve cells connected
to specific arts of the body

 Hormones transmitted
Impulses are transmitted
through the blood
through nerve cells
What are the similarities between
endocrine and nervous systems?
 Both stimulate responses that have survival value to
specific stimuli
 Chemical transmission occurs in both nervous and
endocrine systems
 Both are involved in coordination of body activities
 Both systems help to bring about a form of
communication between various parts of an organism
 Both transmit impulses triggered off by stimuli to
which responses are made
 Both response system increase chances by survival for
the organism
What are the effects of over secretion of
adrenaline hormone in man?
 Causes dilation of heart and skeletal muscle arterioles in order to
increase the blood supply to the parts in order to provide the
necessary glucose and oxygen for the increased respiration rate.
 Increase the rate and force of heart beat in order to supply
enough blood to the skeletal muscles
 Increases the oxidative breakdown of glucose in the body cells in
order to release more energy
 Causes the conversion of glycogen to glucose thus increasing the
blood sugar level in the body
 Increases the rate and depth of breathing or ventilation rate
increases

Note: that all the above responses energy production
in the skeletal muscles and makes the animal ready for
immediate action i.e. Flight
 Drugs and drug abuse
 State the effects of drug abuse on the human health
 A drug is a chemical substance, which when taken alters the
functioning of the body

Drugs are classified under the following categories

 Pain killers which suppresses pain centres in the brain e.g.
Paracetamol
 Sedatives that slow down brain function e.g. Sleeping pills (
piriton ) and tranquilizers
 Stimulants increase the speed of brain activity ( CNS)
 Curative drugs which destroy pathogens or disease causing
micro- organisms
 Depressants suppress the ( CNS)

 Drug abuse and its effects
1. Alcohol excessive consumption lead
to ;-
 Liver cirrhosis
 Heart attack and stroke
 Lack of self-control hence vulnerable to
STD infections
 Poor health due to poor feeding
 Impaired mental and physical function e.g.
Falling down
 Brain damage
 Cancer
 Narcotics
2. Narcotic e.g. Opium, bhang and
morphine leads to
 Depresses nervous system
 Stupor, confusion and convulsions.
 Deduces self-control hence vulnerable to sexual
diseases e.g. HIV/AIDS
 Restlessness and sleeplessness
 One suffer from hallucination
 Nausea vomiting and diarrhea
 Mental disorder
 Anorexia , dehydration and lose of body weight
3. Cocaine and amphetamines and miraa;
There effects are ;-
 Increased heart failure
 Increased blood pressure
 Reduced sexual potency
 Delirium
 Hallucination
 Heart failure
 Nervous disorders
 Premature aging
 Nervousness , shivers and convulsions
 Euphoria

 4. Glue
Effects of sniffing glue
 It damages brain
 Reduced mental and physical
capabilities
 Excitation , feeding of less
inhibition
 Fatigue and weight loss
 5. Heroine

 It causes damage to blood vessels by

infections
 It causes physical dependency
 Overdose cause death
 Continuous use causes hepatitis and
HIV/AIDS due to share of injection
What a healthy person should learn generally
about medicine

 Overdose can cause death to poisoning of the body

organs
 Misuse of antibiotics leads to resistance to the
bacteria which is being treated
 Under dose may not trigger the healing process
 Misuse and abuse of medicine can lead to weakening of
the immune system

 Note that a drug addict is a patient, who requires

professional help of a doctor and counselor
Human eye
Internal structure of the eye
Eye muscles
structure and functions of parts of the human eye
 Sclera – protects and support structures of the eye which it encloses
 Choroid- has black pigment which helps in reducing reflections of light in the
yet the many blood capillaries it has help supply nutrients to the other parts of
the eye
 Retina – has rods (cells sensitive to light) and cones (cells sensitive to colour)
 Fovea centralis – (yellow spot) has a concentration of cones. It is where images
form most sharply
 Iris – is a ring of contractile muscle continuous with the choroid. It surrounds
the pupil. It determines the colour of the eyes
 Pupil is a hole situated in front of the eye; it controls the amount of light
entering the eye
 lens- are biconvex, converges light rays entering the eye to the retina
 Aqueous humour- is less viscous liquid found between lens and cornea. It is
refractive and plays a role in the formation of image
 Vitreous humour jelly- like liquid found behind the lens and the retina. It is
refractive
 Conjunctiva is a thin and transparent membrane that lines the inside of the
eyelids and covers the surface of the cornea
 The cornea- is a transparent disc in front of the eye that is continuous with the
sclera. It is curved which helps it to play an important role in focusing of the
image in the retina.
 Accommodation
This Refers to the ability of the eye to focus to both far and near
objects.

 It is accomplished through a change in the shape of the lens. Rays

from a distant object would be focused at a point behind retina if the
lens were not adjusted appropriately.

 When the eye is looking at a distant object,

 the Ciliary muscles are relaxed and the suspensory ligaments are
stretched tight.
 The lens is pulled thin.
 Thus allowing light rays from a distant object to be focused onto the
retina.

 When the eye is looking at a near object,

 the ciliary muscles contract and the suspensory ligaments become slack.
 The lens becomes more convex.
 This allows light rays to be focused onto the retina.
State changes that take place in the iris of
the eye in response to

Dim light
 Circular muscle relax
 Radial muscle contract
 Diameters of iris becomes smaller
 The pupil enlarge
 Bright light
 Circular muscle contract
 Radial muscle relax
 Diameter of iris becomes larger
 The pupil becomes smaller
State the adjustments that take place in the eye when a person
is looking at a near object and then a distant object

Near object
 Ciliary muscles contract
 Suspensory ligaments relax
 Focal length of lens decreases
When looking at ; Far or distant object

Ciliary muscle relax

Curvature of the lens decreases
Focal length of the lens increase
Defects of the eye and their correction
 Short- sighted ness ( myopia) – this is a condition
when an image is out of focus because it is formed
in front of the retina the defect can be corrected
by use of biconcave lenses

 Long sightedness (hypermetropia) – this is a defect

when an individual focuses clearly on distant
objects.
 Image of nearby objects are formed beyond the
retina (behind). The condition is corrected using
biconvex lenses.

Myopia and hypermetropia
 Other defects of the Eye
 Astigmatism – this is a condition in which the cornea or the lens is uneven, so that
images are not focused properly on the retina. t can be corrected by wearing
spectacles with special cylindrical lenses

 Cataracts – this is a disease whereby the lens becomes opaque due to coagulation
of the proteins resulting to blindness. Corrected by removal and replacement of
the faulty lens through surgery

 Trachoma – a disease of the eye where the cornea is infected and becomes opaque.
It is treated by cornea transplant and viral infections treatment

 Xerophthalmia- here cornea becomes dry and scaly – due to lack of vitamin A in the
body.
This results to blindness. It can be treated by having vitamins A supplements
 Exophthalmia – the eye ball protrude

 Conjunctivitis - the eye surface becomes rough and opaque due to bacteria and
viruses. Wash your eyes frequently in clean water and put eye drops ointment that
contains antibiotics into the eye.

 Astigmatism – this is a condition in which the cornea or the lens is uneven, so that
images are not focused properly on the retina. This defect can be corrected by
wearing spectacles with special cylindrical lenses

Human Ear
 Parts and functions
The ear performs two major functions
 Hearing
 Detecting changes in the positions of the body

The ear is divided into three sections

The outer ear
The middle ear
The inner ear
 Hearing mechanism
 The pinna - collects and concentrates sound waves into the external auditory
meatus which conveys them to eardrum or tympanic membrane.
 The external auditory meatus is hairy and wax to trap solid particles or dust that
would damage the ear drum. .
 The pinna is funnel shaped and has folds to increase the surface area for
collection of sound waves.
 The ear drum – vibrates as the sound waves strikes it. The sound waves are
converted into sound vibrations which are then transmitted to the ossicles.
(Malleus, incus and stapes) .the stapes passes them to the endolymph of the middle
canal of the cochlea.
 The basilar membrane and tectoral membrane pick up the vibrations from the
endolymph and transmit then to the organ of corti.
 The sensory hair cells in the organ of corti are thus stimulated by the vibration;
hence they trigger off nerve impulses which are transmitted to other brain via
auditory nerve fibre for interpretation.
 The organ of corti discriminates sound according to their frequencies and the
intensity of stimulation of the sensory hair cells determines the pitch or loudness
of sound
 Ear Defects
 Otitis media (glue ear) - here the middle of the ear is inflamed and
a reduction of the ability to hear. Use antibiotics and surgery is
recommended
 Vertigo (giddiness) – disorientation of the body in space – one of the
causes is dilation of the endolymph
 Tinnitus- this is a sensation of noises in the ear. It is caused by
accumulation of the wax in the ear or use of certain drugs e.g.
Quinine. Treatment is by removal of wax and stopping using of drugs
 Deafness- inability to hear caused by wax, blockage of the
Eustachian tube, thick ear drum, rupture eardrum, damage of the
cochlea and fused ossicles

 All the above can be treated using certain drugs, using cotton buds
to remove excess wax and sometimes operation may be necessary