‫بسم اهلل الرحمن الرحيم‬

Neurophysiology

Abu ahmed
2021
 There are two major regulatory
systems in the body, regulate the
homeostasis:-
1.The nervous system.
2.The endocrine system .
 The nervous system regulates fast,

short-term responses.
 The endocrine system regulates

relatively slow, long-lived responses.

 Organization of the NS
 Anatomically nervous system
divided in to:-
1. Central NS: consists of brain and
spinal cord
2. Peripheral NS: nerves
connecting CNS to muscles and
organs (Spinal & cranial nerves).
Organization of the NS
CNS: Brain & Spinal Cord
 Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
 Can be divided in to :-
1. afferent division (Sensory
division):- Conduct impulses
from receptors to the CNS.
 Sensory nerve fibers can be

somatic from skin, skeletal

muscles or joints or visceral
(autonomic) from organs.
2. Efferent division (motor
division):-
 Conducts impulses from CNS to the

effectors (muscles &glands)

 PeripheralNervous System (PNS)
functionally Can be divided in to:-
1. Somatic nervous system.
2. Autonomic nervous system
 Autonomic nervous divides into:
1. Sympathetic nervous system
2.Parasympathetic nervous system
3. Enteric nervous system
Motor efferent division

P eripheral Nervous S ystem

Autonomic
S omatic

S ympathetic P arasympathetic
Basic functions of the NS
1. Sensation: monitors changes ,
events occurring in (internal
environment) or out side of the
body (external environment),
changes are known as stimuli
and the cells that monitor them
are receptors.
2. Integration: to determine the
appropriate response.
3. Reaction: motor out put, the
activation of muscles to contract
or glands to secretion.
Sensory System
 Definition of sensory system
Asensory system is a part of the
nervous system responsible for
reception, transmission and
processing sensory information .
Components of sensory system
 A sensory system consists of:
1. Sensory receptors
2. Neural pathways & tracts
3. Sensory cortex which involved in
sensory perception.
 Tracts
Tracts 2nd order Sensory
Medullary Thalamus 3rd order SensoryCortex
Cortex
Medullary Thalamus SI
Nuclei SI&&SII
SII
Nuclei
(Localization & Perception
of sensation)
Dorsal
DorsalHorn
Horn
Of
Of
Spinal
Spinalcord
cord
1st order

Peripheral
Peripheral
Nerve
Nerve

Receptor
Receptor

Stimulus
Stimulus
 The receptors
 Are specialized structures present at
the peripheral end of an afferent
neurons.
 Act as transducers that convert

various forms of energy into receptor

potentials in neurons.
 Classification of receptors
 Receptors can be classified according
to :
1.Traditional Classification
2.The site of receptors
3.The stimulus to which they respond
4. According to the site of events
 Classification of receptors
A. Traditional Classification :
1. Special senses e.g. vision, hearing,
taste & smell.
2. Cutaneous senses e.g. touch, pain &
temperature.
3. Visceral senses e.g. those concerned
with internal environment.
B. The site of receptors:
1.Superficial or cutaneous receptors:
present in the skin.
2. Deep receptors [proprioceptors]:
present in structures deep to skin.
3. Visceral receptors: present in the
internal viscera.
 C. The stimulus to which they respond:
1. Mechanoreceptors: stimulated by
mechanical stimuli.
 Stretch receptors in skeletal muscles [muscle

spindle].
 Baroreceptors in the wall of blood vessels.
 Auditory receptors [organ of corti].

2. Photoreceptors: they respond to light waves

[e.g. rods & cones of the retina].
3. Chemoreceptors: they respond to
chemical stimuli. They could be:
 External chemoreceptors:e.g. smell &

taste receptors.
 Internal chemoreceptors:[e.g. O2 &

CO2 receptors &osmoreceptors].

4. Thermoreceptors: hot & cold
receptors.
5. Pain receptors [nociceptors]: respond
to injuries stimuli [tissue damage].
E. According To The Structure:
 Free nerve ending: e.g pain &

temperature receptors.
 Encapsulated : e.g pacinian corpuscles

for touch and meissner,s corpuscles

for vibration.
 Expanded tip: merkles disc and ruffini

ending.
 Sense organs: when the receptors

combine with non –neuronal cells.

E.g organ of corti for hearing and
otolithic organ for posture.
D. According to the site of events:
 Teleceptors: detect distant events
e.g Visual receptors.
 Exteroceptors: detect events at the

immediate external enviroment

e.g touch receptors.
 Interoceptors: detect events at the

internal environment e.g chemo

receptors.
 Proprioceptors: detect changes in

position of the body.

Mechanoreceptors in the Skin
Mohamed Nour MSc in
physiologydrsherwanshal@gmail.c
om 9/23/21 26