Special Senses

Smell and taste respond to

chemical stimulation, vision to
light stimulation, and hearing
and balance to mechanical
stimulation.
 Olfaction
Olfaction occurs in response to
airborne molecules called
odorants. Olfactory neurons have
enlarged distal ends with long
cilia. The cilia have receptors that
respond to dissolved substances
in the nasal mucus.
The wide range of detectable
odors may result from
combinations of receptor
responses stimulated by only a
Neuronal Pathways for Olfactio

Axons of the olfactory neurons form

the olfactory nerves, which enters
the olfactory bulb. Olfactory tracts
carry action potential from the
olfactory bulbs to the olfactory
cortex of the brain.
 Taste
The sensory structures that
detect taste stimuli are the taste
buds. Taste buds contain taste
cells with hairs that extend into
taste pores. Receptors on the
hairs detect dissolved
substances.
There are five basic types of
taste: sour, salty, bitter, sweet,
and umami.
Neuronal Pathways for Taste
The facial nerves carry
taste from the anterior
two-thirds of the tongue,
the glossopharyngeal from
the posterior one-third of
the tongue, and the vagus
from the root of the
tongue.
Vision
Accessory Structures
The eyebrows prevent
perspiration from entering the
eyes. The eyelids protect the
eyes from foreign objects. The
conjunctiva covers the inner
eyelids and the anterior surface
of the eye. Lacrimal glands
produce tears that flow across
the surface of the eye. Tears
lubricate and protect the eye.
Excess tears pass through the
nasolacrimal duct into the nasal
Anatomy of the Eye
The eyeball is a hollow, fluid-filled
sphere. The sphere has a larger,
posterior compartment, which
makes up about five-sixths of the
eye, and a much smaller anterior
compartment, which makes up
about one-sixth of the eye.
The fibrous tunic is the outer
layer of the eye. It consists of the
sclera and cornea. The vascular
tunic is the middle layer of the eye.
It consists of the choroid, ciliary
body, and iris. The lens is held in
place by suspensory ligaments,
which are attached to the smooth
The retina is the inner layer of the eye and
contains neurons sensitive to light. Rods
are responsible for vision in low
illumination. Cones are responsible for
color vision. Light causes retinal to change
shape, causing opsin to change shape,
causing cellular changes that result in
vision. The fovea centralis in the center of
the macula lutea has the highest
concentration of cones and is the area in
which images are detected most clearly.
The optic disc, or blind spot, is where the
optic nerves exits the eye and blood
vessels enter. The anterior and posterior
chambers of the eye are anterior to the
lens and are filled with aqueous humor.
The vitreous chamber is filled with vitreous
Functions of the Complete Eye
The eye functions much like a camera.
The iris allows light into the eye, which
is focused by the cornea, lens, and
humors onto the retina. The light
striking the retina produces action
potentials that are relayed to the brain.
Light passing through a concave
surface diverges. Light passing through
a convex surface converges.
Converging light rays cross at the focal
point and are said to be focused. The
cornea is responsible for most of the
convergence, whereas the lens can
Neutral Pathway for Vision
Axons pass through the optic
nerves to the optic chiasm,
where some cross. Axons from
the nasal retina cross and those
from the temporal retina do
not. Optic tracts from the
chiasm lead to the thalamus.
Optic radiations extend from
the thalamus to the visual
cortex in the occipital lobe.
Hearing and Balance

The organs of hearing and

balance are divided into three
parts: external, middle, and
inner ear.
 The Ear and its
Functions
The external ear consists of the
auricle and the external acoustic
meatus. The middle ear connects the
external and inner ear. The tympanic
membrane is stretched across the
external auditory meatus. The
malleus, incus, and stapes connect
the tympanic membrane to the oval
window of the inner ear. The auditory,
or Eustachian, tube connects the
middle ear to the pharynx and
equalizes pressure. The middle ear is
also connected to the mastoid air
cells. The inner ear has three parts:
the semicircular canals, the vestibule,
 Hearing
Cochlea is a canal shaped like a
snail’s shell. The cochlea is divided
into three compartments by the
vestibular and basilar membranes.
The spinal organ consists of hair
cells that attach to the basilar and
tectorial mambranes. Sound waves
are funneled by the auricle down
the external acoustic meatus,
causing the tympanic membrane
to vibrate.
The tympanic membrane vibrations
are passed along the ossicles to
the oval window of the inner ear.
Movement of the stapes in the oval
window causes the perilymph to
move the vestibular membrane,
which causes the endolymph to
move the basilar membrane.
Movement of the basilar
membrane causes movement of
the hair cells in the spiral organ
and generation of action
potantials, which travel along the
Neuronal Pathways for Hearing

Action potentials travel along the

cochlear portion of the
vestibulocochlear nerve to the
cochlear nucleus and on to the
cerebral cortex.
 Equilibrium
The sense of equilibrium, or balance, has two
components: static equilibrium and kinetic
equilibrium. Static equilibrium evaluates the
position of the head relative to gravity. Muculae,
located in the vestibule, consist of hair cells with
the microvilli embedded in a gelatinous mass
that contains otoliths. The gelatinous mass mass
moves in response to gravity. Kinetic equilibrium
evaluates movements of the head. There are
three semicircular canals in the inner ear,
arranged perpendicular to each other. The
ampulla of each semicircular canal contains a
crista ampullaris, which has hair cells with
microvilli embedded in a gelatinous mass, the
cupula.
 Neuronal Pathways for
Equilibrium
Axons in the vestibular portion of the
vestibulocochlear nerve project to the
vestibular nucleus and on to the
cerebral cortex.
 Effects of
Aging on the
Special
Senses
There is a general decline in taste,
vision, hearing, and balance in
elderly people.
END