Special Senses

„ Will only take 1 lecture, not 2, so we’ll be

caught up with regard to the syllabus.

Olfaction
„ Olfactory epithelium
… Inmucous membrane
on roof of nasal cavity
… Humans: microsmatic
„ Small surface area
„ 3 types of cells
… Receptor cells
… Supporting cells
… Basal cells

Olfaction
„ Receptor cells
… Bipolar
… Single dendrite
„ Knoblike expansion
„ 10-20 cilia
… Receptors are in cilia
… Axon forms olfactory nerve (CN I)
… Continually lost
… Continually replenished from basal
cells
„ Support cells
… Support receptor cells
… Aid in mucous movement
„ Bowman’s Glands
… Located below epithelium
… Secrete mucous
… Dissolves odorous substances

1
 Olfaction
„ What makes a smell?
… Volatility
„ Moves through air
… Water solubility
„ Diffuse through mucous
… Lipid solubility
„ Interact with lipids of olfactory receptor membranes
„ Smells adapt quickly to a continuous stimulus

Anosmia
„ Lack of smell
„ Affects taste too

Taste
„ Taste buds
… Epithelium in the mouth
… Receptor cells
„ Clear vesicles
„ Dense vesicles
… Glycosaminoglycans
„ Microvilli
„ 4-20 receptors per bud
… Support cells
„ Support and secrete
substance bathing microvilli
… Basal cells
„ Replace lost taste buds (10-
14 days)

2
 Taste
„ 4 basic tastes
… Sour
… Salty
… Sweet
… Bitter
„ Tip of tongue
… Sweet & salty
„ Sides and back
… Sour and bitter

Taste Pathway

Retina
„ Pigment epithelium
… Support, nutrients,
absorb light
„ Rods & Cones
… Photoreceptors
… No dendrites
… Lightvs color
… Dark current
„ External limiting
membrane
… Fenestrated for
connection between
photosensitive
processes and rest of Light
cell body

3
 Retina
„ Outer nuclear layer
… Cellbodies of rods &
cones
„ Outer plexiform
layer
… Synaptic
… Axons of rods &
cones
… Dendrites of bipolar
cells
… Axons & dendrites of Light
horizontal cells

Retina
„ Inner nuclear layer
… Bipolar
„ Next stage after
rod/cone
… Horizontal
„ Dendrites – cone
axons
„ Axons – rod & cone
axons
… Amacrine
„ Twilight vision Light

Retina
„ Inner Plexiform layer
… Synaptic
… Axons of bipolar
cells, dendrites of
ganglion cells,
axons/dendrites of
amacrine cells
„ Ganglion cell layer
… M(idget) cells
„ Single bipolar cell
… P(olysynaptic) cells Light
„ Several bipolar cells

4
 Retina
„ Optic nerve layer
… Axons of ganglion
cells
… Unmyelinated

„ Internal limiting
membrane

Light

Blindspot
„ Where the optic nerve leaves the retina
„ Starts at ganglion cell layer, piercing
through the other layers
„ No receptors, or other cells, in this region

Retinal Circuitry

5
Night Blindness
„ Nyctalopia
„ Vitamin A deficiency
… Used to form visual pigment
… Decrease sensitivity to light of both rods &
cones

Color Blindness
„ Lack a cone
„ Red-green
… Most common
… Esp. in males

Visual Pathways:
Clinical Correlates

6
 Visual Pathways:
Clinical Correlates

Hearing

Organ of Corti
„ Hair cells
„ Endolymph
„ Tectorial
membrane

7
Sound transmission
„ Ossicular route
… Normal route
„ Air route
… Disease/damage to ossicles
… Airon round window
… Poor sound transmission

„ Bone route
… Bones of skull to perilymph

Deafness
„ Conductive
… Obstruction by wax
… Middle ear diseases
„ Sensorineural
… Damaged hair cells
… Damaged auditory nerve
„ Tell them apart by a tuning fork

Vestibular Sensation
„ Saccule & utricle
… Linear acceleration
„ Semicircular canals
… Angular acceleration
„ Head/body turns
„ Required for
coordination of motor
responses, eye
movements and
posture

8
Disorders
„ Vertigo
… Illusory motion
„ Nystagmus