The Special Sense

Organs

By Tracey Spanbauer
 The Special Senses
 Sight - eyes
 Smell - nose
 Hearing - ear
 Taste - tongue
The Role of Sense Organs
in the Body

The sense organs convert environmental

stimuli into neural activity. The brain
interprets this stimuli as sight, smell,
hearing, and taste.
Sight: the eye
 How We See
 Light enters the eye through the cornea.
 The ciliary body opens and closes the iris,
controlling the amount of light entering the
eye.
 Next the light moves through the lens which
focuses it. When light reaches the retina
(which is made up of photoreceptor cells
called rods and cones) it is translated into a
message of vision which travels from the
retina via the optic nerve to the brain.
 Disorders that affect sight
Disorders of the eye
 Myopia - nearsightedness & Hyperopia - farsightedness
 Astigmatism - refractions / not focused
Disorders of the eye muscles
 Strabismus - 2 images received by brain
 Nystagmus - involuntary movements of they eye-interfere w/ focus
Disorders of the cornea, iris, and lens
 Glaucoma - special type of optic neuropathy, usually associated with high
intraocular pressure extremely sensitive to light
 Cataract - a cloudy film over the lens of the eye
Disorders of the retina
 Diabetic retinopathy - changes in the eye's blood vessels caused by diabetes
 Macular degeneration - damage to a small area near the center of the retina;
difficulty in reading and writing
 Smell: the Nose
The nose is a facial organ that facilitates breathing and is used to smell.
 How We Detect Odors
 The nostrils carry odors into the nose when we
inhale.
 The odor molecules are dissolved in the mucous
lining inside of the nose. The odor is trapped.
 The olfactory cell receptors, located just below
the front of the skull are able to detect
thousands of different types of odors at very
low concentrations.
 Once the odor molecules are detected the
olfactory receptors send nerve impulses to the
olfactory bulb.
 The cells then send signals to the brain via the
olfactory nerve.
 Conditions that affect smell
 sinus and other upper respiratory infections
 polyps in nasal cavities
 frontal head injuries
 exposure to certain chemicals (insecticides & solvents)
 numerous medications
 radiation (treatment of head and neck CAs)
 other health issues that affect the nervous system (Parkinson’s
or Alzheimer’s disease)
 aging……not a condition but affects hearing
Hearing: the Ear
 How we hear
 When something makes a noise, it sends sound waves (vibrations)
through the air.
 When the sound waves reach the eardrum it vibrates. These
vibrations are sent to the three smallest bones in your body. First
the hammer, then the anvil, and finally, the stirrup. Next the
stirrup passes the vibrations to the cochlea.
 Inside the cochlea there is thousands of hair-like nerve endings
called cilia. The cilia vibrations travel via the auditory nerve to
the brain.
 The brain translates this info. to tell you what you are hearing.

**The inner ear also detects changes in balance & head position.
The core of this detection system is the semicircular canal (which
is filled with fluid). The movement of this fluid detects changes in
head position and contributes to balance.**
 Problems that affect hearing
Problems of Outer Ear:
otitis externa
perforated ear drum

Problems of the Middle Ear:

otitis media
burst eardrum
damaged ossicles (hammer, anvil & stirrup)

Problems of the Inner Ear:

sensorineural hard of hearing & nerve damage
Tinnitus
vertigo
Menieres disease
Smell and taste
are linked
together
Taste: the Tongue
 How we taste
 The tongue has different shaped papillae. The papillae
help your tongue "feel" the texture of food by sending
messages to your brain.

 Located on the papillae are taste buds. The taste buds

have finger like projections called microvilli.

 Chemicals from the food we eat (tastants) dissolve in

saliva and contact these openings to interact with
proteins on the cell’s surface.

 This causes electrical changes in the cells which send

signals that ultimately go to the brain.
How do we tell the difference
between tastes?
The answer is how each food chemically reacts
once dissolved in salivia.
- Salt dissolves in the mouth allowing sodium ions to enter the
taste buds through the microvilli. When the Na+ accumulate, a
chemical change releases Ca++ that enter the cells which in turn
release chemical signals called vesicles. Nerve cells receive
these messages and send a signal to the brain.

- Acids generate H+ which block K+ on the microvilli and a

different signal (sour) is sent to the brain.

- Sweet things do not enter the taste buds. Sweets cling to the
surface of taste buds and release enzymes that generate a
different type of signal to the nerve cells to take to the brain.
 Common diseases/disorders
that affect taste
 phantom taste perception
 hypogeusia
 ageusia
 dysgeusia
 Burning mouth syndrome
Some causes of taste
problems
 Middle ear and upper
respiratory infections
 Radiation therapy for head and
neck CA
 Exposure to chemicals
(insecticides & some
medication)
 Head injury
 Surgeries involving the ear,
nose, and throat
 Poor oral hygiene & dental
problems
 Wake UP!

If you have any questions (Kris)

please feel free to use your A&P
book to find the answers.