1.2.

sense organs
 sensory organ an organ that receives and
relays information about the body’s senses
to the brain.
1. The human eye
The eye is a spherical shaped ,which provide to see in
clear focus, in three dimensions and in colour
They are set in eye sockets in the skull that protect
them. eye.pptx
Human eye is protected by:
Eyelids: to protect from the entry of material
like dust, sand and insects, which might injure or
irritate them.
Eyelashes: trap particles and keep them out of
the eye
Conjunctiva: a thin transparent membrane on the
surface of the eye.eye.pptx
 Parts of the eye and their functions
 Eye ball is composed of 3 separate layers
i. The sclera(the white outer layer):
 is very tough and strong so the eyeball is not
easy to damage.eye.pptx
 It has a transparent area at the front known as
the cornea, which lets light into the eye.
 The curved surface of the cornea is also very
important for bending the light coming into the
eye.
 The rest of the sclera has many blood vessels,
which supply the retina with food and oxygen, and
a dark layer underneath.
II. The choroid (middle layer of eye).
 This layer is dark because it contains pigmented
cells that absorb light and stop it being reflected
around inside of the eye.
 Aqueous humor: is a fluid that fills the anterior
chamber of the eyeball
 Provides nutrients for the lens and cornea
 Vitreous humor: is a jelly-like fluid fills posterior
that helps to hold shape eyeball.
o Once the light has travelled through the cornea
it has to pass through the pupil in the centre of
the iris.
o Iris: the coloured part of the eye
o It is made up of muscles that control the size
of the pupil and so to control the amount of
light reaching the retina.
o The circular muscles run around the iris, while
the radial muscles run across it
When the light is relatively dim:
 The radial muscles contract
 The circular muscles relax and
 The pupil is pulled open wide (it dilates).
In bright light
 The circular muscles of the iris contract
 The radial muscles relax
 The pupil very small (it constricts).
 The change in the size of the pupil in response to
light is a reflex.
 Once light has entered the inner eye through the
pupil it passes through the lens.
 Lens a flexible disc that helps focus light on the
retina.
 It is held and attached to the ciliary muscle of the
eyeball by suspensory ligaments.
 Suspensory ligaments: elastic-like
structures that suspend the lens and pull it into
shape for focusing distant objects onto the
retina.
 Ciliary muscles eye muscles that automatically
contract or relax the shape of the lens of the eye
to help focus light on the retina.
III. Retina(the Inner layer):
 Retina: a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner
surface of the eye
 The light sensitive cells that make up the retina
are cones and rods cells.
 Rods cells in the retina that perceive light and
movement and work well in dim light.
 Do not give a very clear image and they do not
respond to different colours.
 Rods are spread across the retina except over the
fovea
Fovea: parts of retina where the cone cells are
concentrated
Cones cells in the retina that perceive light and
movement and only work in bright light.
There are fewer cones than rods
The colours of image formed is depend on which
combination of cones is stimulated
Each cone responds to red, green or blue light

Some people cannot see all the colours because

they are missing one or more type of cones .this is
known as colour blindness.
 At the point where the optic nerve leaves the
eye there is no retina .this point is called blind
spot
 How the retina works?
 The light energy that falls on the retina is
changed into electrical energy by the light-
sensitive cells.

 Rods and cones contain chemicals that change

when light falls on them. This change triggers an
impulse in the affector neurons that make up the
optic nerve.

 The impulses travel along the optic nerve to the

visual areas of the brain.
o Focusing the light
• Light rays are refracted when they pass from one
medium to another e.g. from air to water
• In the eye, the light coming in is bent (refracted)
twice –As a result of this refraction the image is
focused onto the retina is inverted and real.
• This corrected by vision center in the brain called
optic lobe.
• The lens of the eye helps to focus both near and
distant object equally through contraction and
relaxation of ciliary muscles. This is known as
accommodation
◊ Accommodation :ability of the eye to see
near and distant object
 Focusing on nearby object
 lens more rounded
 ciliary muscles contract
 Suspensory ligaments slack
Focusing on distant object:
 Lens is stretched (less convex)-
 ciliary muscles relax
 suspensory ligaments pulled tight
 Common eye defects.
 There are a number of common eye
defects that can and do affect many people
of all ages
 There are a number of ways in which
these problems can be treated – but they
all involve the use of extra lenses to bend
the light.
I. Short sight(myopia)
 A short-sighted person can focus clearly on things
that are close to them but has much more
difficulty with objects in the distance, which
appear blurred.
 This may be as a result of a lens that is e ffectively
‘too strong or eyeball too long
 Image focused in front of retina
 It can be corrected using concave (diverging)
lenses that spread the light out more before it gets
into the eye.
II. Long sight(hyperopia)
• A long-sighted person can focus clearly on things
that are at a distance but has much more
difficulty with objects close to them, which
appear blurred
• This may be as a result of a lens that is
effectively ‘too weak’ it is too flat or eyeball too
short
• Image focused behind the retina
• It can be corrected using convex (converging)
lenses: that bring the light rays together more
before they reach the eye and bring the rays of
light into perfect focus on the retina .
III. Astigmatism
 is a condition when the shape of the eye is
irregular – more egg-shaped than round
 It is more complex than myopia and hyperopia
 So the cornea is curved asymmetrically and this
affect the way light is focused on the retina.
 The blurred image is focused at the different
point on the retina.
 It can be corrected by the use of eyeglasses with
cylindrical and equally curved.
2. The Ear as a sense organ.
 The ear is an organ for hearing it also
concerned with balance and position of the
body
 The ear is divided into three regions:
I. The outer ear Consists of:
A. Pinna(auricle): is flap like structure helps
to trap and funnel sound into the ear.
B. Ear canal(auditory canal): is a tube that
carries the sound from pinna inwards & it
is about 2 cm long.
• At the entrance of the ear canal there are a
number of small hairs. These filter out dust
particles.

• The cells lining the ear canal produce

waxy material which traps dust and germs,
and lubricates the eardrum.

C. Eardrum or tympanum: is a sheet of

very thin membrane at the end of the ear
canal that vibrates the incoming sound.
II. The middle ear
 The cavity contains three tiny bones
called the malleus (hammer), the
incus (anvil) and the stapes(stirrup)
because of their shape – are the
smallest bones in the body.
 They form joints with one another,
with the malleus attached to the
eardrum and the stapes to the oval
window.
 The cavity of the middle ear is connected to
the throat by a tube called the Eustachian
tube. This is usually closed but when the
pressure in the middle ear increases – while
flying to equalize air pressure

 At one end of the middle ear, opposite to the

eardrum, there are two openings: one of them
is oval in shape (oval window).
 The other is round (round window). The
openings are covered by very thin membranes.
III. The inner ear
 Consists of a cavity filled with a fluid,
two sac-like structures called the
sacculus and utriculus, three
semicircular canals and a coiled tube
called the cochlea.
 A cross section of the cochlea reveals
that it is made up of three tubes in one.
 The mechanism of hearing
 The pinna collects sound waves and
directs them to the eardrum through the
ear canal.
 When sound waves hit the eardrum, it
vibrates. This magnifies the vibrations.
 Which are then transmitted through the
ear ossicles (the small bones) to the oval
window.
 The ear ossicles also amplify the
vibrations.
The vibrations of the stapes make the
membrane at the oval window vibrate.
The vibrations of the oval window are
transmitted to the fluid and then spread to the
cochlea.
Vibrations of the fluid cause the hair-like
sensory cells to move. These movements in
turn cause production of nerve impulses in
the affector nerve fibres.
These impulses are transmitted to the brain
for interpretation through auditory nerve
 The senses of balance and movement
 The semicircular canals in the inner ear are
concerned with the detection of motion.
 The swellings on each of the semicircular
canals (the ampullae) contain sensory cells
attached to sensory nerve endings.
 The sensory cells have hairs which are
enclosed in a core of jelly substance called a
cupula.
 Whenever the body or the head moves, the
semicircular canals move with the head.
 The fluid in the semicircular canals also
starts to move but it lags behind in its motion
and so it apparently moves in the opposite
direction.

 The moving fluid causes the cupula to tilt,

thus pressing the hairs of the sensory cells.
Which creates nerve impulses in the sensory
nerve endings.
 The nerve impulses are transmitted to the
brain through vestibular nerve. The brain then
interprets the direction and speed of motion
of the body or head.

The utriculus and sacculus are concerned

with the sense of balance and posture.
The inner surfaces of these structures contain
sensory cells with protruding hairs embedded
in a jelly-like substance containing tiny
particles of chalk called otoliths.
When the head is tilted on one side, the
otoliths move in the opposite direction,
pulling or pressing the sensory hairs

This initiates nerve impulses which are

transmitted to the brain.

 The brain then detects the angle of tilt and

Return the body to its normal posture.
  Common disorders of the ear
 Deafness or the inability to hear: may be
temporary or permanent. It can be caused in
many ways.
 If the eardrum is damaged, by a blow or by
a very loud noise, deafness will result. This
may be temporary or, if the eardrum fails to
heal, it can be permanent.
 If the tiny bones of the middle ear become
damaged or fused by infection, or crumble
away with age or disease, This will be
permanently deaf.
 Damage to the auditory nerve ,once the
nerve is damaged it cannot be restored.

 It can also be the result of infection, when

the middle ear becomes full of thick infected
mucus. It can be reversed if the infection is
cleared with antibiotics. However, if the
infection lasts too long, permanent hearing
loss may result.
3. Taste and smell
 The sensory receptors of the tongue and
those found in the nostrils are sensitive to
solutions of certain chemical substances.

 The sensory receptors of taste(taste buds)

are located on the upper surface of the
tongue, and to a lesser extent on the surface
of the throat.
 The receptors for smell(olfactory
receptors ) are located in the upper parts of
the nasal passages
 There are five basic taste sensations: The
first four are sweet, sour, bitter and salt and
Very recently scientists have discovered a
fifth taste called umami (a very savoury
flavour found in foods such as meat,
cheese, broth and mushroom).
 All of the five different taste are spread
out all over the tongue, although some of
them may seem to be in a greater
concentration in certain places.
 The tongue is covered with projections called
papillae
 Filiform papillae – sharp with no taste buds
 Fungiform papillae – rounded with taste buds
 Circumvallate papillae – large & V shaped
papillae with taste buds
 Foliate papillae- present on side of tongue
Taste buds are found on the sides of papillae
 A few substances stimulate only one of the
five types of receptors ,but most stimulate
two, three, four or five types to varying
degrees.
 The receptors of taste and smell are
essentially similar in function.

 The major functional difference between the

two kinds of receptors is that smell receptors
are more specialised for detecting vapours
coming to the organism from distant sources.

 Taste receptors are specialised for detection

of chemicals present in the mouth itself.
Furthermore, smell receptors are much more
sensitive than taste receptors.
4. The skin as a sense organ
 The skin is a remarkably complex organ which
carries out a number of important functions in
the body.

 It contains a huge variety of sense organs

(touch, temperature, pressure, pain).
 It forms a waterproof layer around the body
tissues, which protects against the loss of water
through evaporation and prevents gaining
water by osmosis
 It protects from the entry of bacteria and
other pathogens.
 It protects from damage by UV light from
the sun.
 It is an excretory organ (nitrogenous wastes
are lost in sweat).
 It is vital in controlling the body
temperature
 Layers of skin
The skin has three main layers.
A. The lower layer, the hypodermis
 Contains fatty tissue which is both an energy
store and acts as an insulation layer,
protecting against heat loss.
B. The middle layer or dermis
 Contains the blood vessels, the sweat glands,
the sensory receptors and the hair follicles.
 It is closely involved in temperature control
in homeostasis and in the sense of touch.

C. The upper layer or epidermis

 Is made up of dead cells. These stop water
loss and also protect against the entry of
pathogens.
 It is the dermis which is particularly
involved in the homeostatic mechanisms of
the skin.
 1.

1. Write at least two similarity of the structure found in inner ear

2. list at least 2 factors which cause permanent deafness

4.

3. Describe how sacculus and

utriculus detect the balance and
position of the body
list the correct sequences of mechanism of hearing