Human

Anatomy
Chapter18
The Nervous
System:
General and
Special Senses
 Introduction

 A sensory receptor is a specialized cell or cell

process that monitors conditions in the body or the
external environment.
 Stimulation of the receptor directly or indirectly
alters the production of action potentials in a
sensory neuron.
 The sensory information arriving at the CNS is
called a sensation.
 A perception is a conscious awareness of a
sensation.

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 Introduction

 General senses
 Sensations of temperature, pain, touch, pressure,
vibration, and proprioception (body position)
 Receptors throughout the body
 These sensations arrive at the primary sensory
cortex, or somatosensory cortex
 Special senses
 Sensations of smell (olfaction), taste (gustation),
balance (equilibrium), hearing, and vision
 Specialized receptor cells that are structurally more
complex than those of the general senses

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 Receptors
 Receptor specificity — each receptor responds to
one type of stimulus
 Receptive field — the area that a receptor monitors
 Tonic receptors — always send signals,
thus information is based on the frequency of the
action potentials
 Phasic receptors — send action potentials only
if stimulated
 Peripheral adaptation — receptors may stop
sending AP even if the stimulus is still present
 Central adaptation — CNS ignoring a AP from
a receptor

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 Receptors

Figure 18.1 Receptors and Receptive Fields

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 Receptors

Sensory Limitations
 Humans do not have receptors for every possible
stimulus.
 Our receptors have characteristic ranges of
sensitivity.
 A stimulus must be interpreted by the CNS. Our
perception of a particular stimulus is an
interpretation and not always a reality.

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 The General Senses
 Receptors for general senses classified by location:
 Exteroceptors provide information about the external
environment.
 Proprioceptors monitor body position.
 Interoceptors monitor conditions inside the body.
Receptors for general senses classified by type
of stimulus:
 Nociceptors = tissue damage
 Thermoreceptors = change in temperature
 Mechanoreceptors = physical distortion, contact, or
pressure
 Chemoreceptors = chemical composition of body fluids

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.2 Referred Pain

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.3 Tactile Receptors in the Skin

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.3 Tactile Receptors in the Skin

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.3 Tactile Receptors in the Skin

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.4 Baroreceptors and the Regulation of Autonomic Functions

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 The General Senses

Figure 18.5 Chemoreceptors

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 The General Senses

TABLE 18.1 Touch and Pressure Receptors

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 Olfaction (Smell)
 Olfaction
 Olfactory organs
 Nasal cavity
 Olfactory epithelium
 Bipolar olfactory receptors (N I)
 Supporting cells
 Basal cells (stem cells)
 Lamina propria
 Olfactory glands (Bowman’s glands)
 Blood vessels
 Nerves (axons of N I)

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 Olfaction (Smell)

Figure 18.6 The Olfactory Organs

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 Gustation (Taste)
 Gustatory receptors are clustered in taste buds, which
contain gustatory cells that extend taste hairs through a taste
pore.
Three types of papillae (epithelial projections) on
human tongue:
 Filiform
 Fungiform
 Circumvallate
 Four primary tastes:
 Salty
 Bitter
 Sweet
 Sour
 Also water and umami (characteristic of broth)
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 Gustation (Taste)

Figure 18.7 Gustatory Reception

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 Gustation (Taste)

Figure 18.8 Gustatory Pathways

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

 The Ear
 External ear
 Middle ear
 Auditory ossicles
 Inner ear
 Vestible and semicircular canals
 Equilibrium
 Cochlea
 Hearing

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.9 Anatomy of the Ear

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.10 The Middle Ear

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.11 Structural Relationships of the Inner Ear

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.12 Semicircular Canals and Ducts

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.13 The Function of the Semicircular Ducts, Part I

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.14 The Function of the Semicircular Ducts, Part II

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.15a,b The Maculae of the Vestibule: (a) Vestibular Complex, Anterior View:
(b) Structure of the Macula
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.15c The Maculae of the Vestibule: (c) Macular Function

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.16 Neural Pathways for Equilibrium Sensations

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17a The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (a) Structure and Orientation of the
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17b The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (b) Cochlear Section, Diagrammatic
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17c The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (c) Cochlear Section, Photomicrograph
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17d The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (d) Cochlear Chambers
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17e The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (e) Organ of Corti
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.17f The Cochlea and Organ of Corti: (f) The Receptor Surface of the Organ
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 Equilibrium and Hearing

Figure 18.18 Pathways for Auditory Sensations

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 Equilibrium and Hearing

TABLE 18.2 Steps in the Production of an Auditory Sensation

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 Equilibrium and Balance

Figure 18.27 Vestibular Schwannoma

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 Vision

 Accessory Structures
 Eyelids
 Lacrimal apparatus
 Eye
 Fibrous tunic
 Vascular tunic
 Neural tunic
 Chambers of the eye
 Visual pathways

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 Vision

Figure 18.19a Accessory Structures of the Eye, Part I: (a) Right Eye, Accessory
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 Vision

Figure 18.19b Accessory Structures of the Eye, Part I: (b) Superficial Dissection of
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 Vision

Figure 18.19c Accessory Structures of the Eye, Part I: (c) Deep Dissection of Right
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 Vision

Figure 18.20 Accessory Structures of the Eye, Part II

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 Vision

Figure 18.21a, b, c Sectional Anatomy of the Eye

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 Vision

Figure 18.21e Sectional Anatomy of the Eye: (e) Horizontal Dissection of Right Eye
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 Vision

Figure 18.21f Sectional Anatomy of the Eye: (f) Horizontal Section, Superior View
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 Vision

Figure 18.22 The Lens and Chambers of the Eye

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 Vision

Figure 18.23a Retinal Organization (Histological)

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 Vision

Figure 18.23b Retinal Organization (Diagrammatic View)

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 Vision

Figure 18.23c Retinal Organization

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 Vision

Figure 18.24 The Circulation of Aqueous Humor

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 Vision

Figure 18.25 Anatomy of the Visual Pathways, Part I

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 Vision

Figure 18.26 Anatomy of the Visual Pathways, Part II

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