THE SENSES

Humans have 5 senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. The senses are based on receptor cells or groups of
receptor cells called sense organs.

Receptors respond to stimuli and send nerve impulses along sensory neurons. The brain interprets the nerve
impulse and, thus, we perceive the impulse as one of our senses.

1. Touch

The skin is the organ which contains the receptors for touch and temperature. The receptors are found in different
concentrations at different areas of the body. An example is that there are few touch receptors at the heel of the
foot but many temperature receptors at the elbow.

2. Taste

Receptors for taste are located on the tongue at the taste buds. The taste buds are at the top and the sides of the
tongue. (See diagram below) Some taste buds are also found in the lining of the throat.
Note that there are 4 different taste receptors: sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. Note that the different types are located
at different areas of the tongue.

The sense of taste is a combination of taste as well as smell, texture, and temperature.
Cold food tastes different than hot food. If you squeeze your nostrils closed when you eat you will not taste the food
as strongly. Also, if you have a cold your sense of taste is diminished. We continue to taste some foods after we eat
them because bits of the food become lodged on out tongues and the taste receptors are still sending impulses as a
result.

3. Sight

Sight is, of course, the function of the eye. It is very important that you know the parts of the eye and the functions
of the parts of the eye.

4. Hearing
The ear is the organ for hearing and balance. In hearing the ear detects vibrations, their frequency (pitch) and
amplitude (loudness). These become nerve impulses carried to the brain. For balance the ear detects the direction
of motion, acceleration and head position related to gravity.

There are 3 sections to the ears: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. See the diagram above for the
parts of the ear. It is very important that you know these parts and their functions.

5. Smell

The olfactory region is high up in the nasal cavity. It contains about 20 million neurons that detect odors. They are
called olfactory neurons. These neurons send impulses when they dare stimulated by gases. The responses
produced by these stimuli can produce about 10,000 different smells. The receptors stop sending stimuli very
quickly. That is why we get used to smells very easily.