UNIT 14: THE SPECIAL SENSES

1. List the special sense organs

Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue
2. Identify the general (somatic) sense organs: (p.233)

Free nerve endings (pain and temperature receptors)

Tactile (Meissner) corpuscles (touch receptor)
Bulbous (Ruffini) corpuscles
Lamellar (Pacinian) corpuscles (deep pressure receptor)
End-bulbs (Krause corpuscles)
Golgi tendon receptors (proprioceptor)
Muscle spindles (proprioceptor)

THE EYE
3. Identify and describe the accessory organs of the eye according to:
Conjunctiva lines the eyelids and covers part of the outer surface of the eyeball.
It ends at the edge of the cornea by fusing with the corneal epithelium. The
conjunctiva secretes mucus, which helps to lubricate the eyeball and keep it
moist.
Eyelids Anteriorly the eyes are protected by the eyelids, which meet at the
medial and lateral corners of the eye
Extrinsic eye muscles are attached to the outer surface of each eye. Extrinsic eye
muscles aim the eyes for following moving objects and for convergence.

Lacrimal apparatus The lacrimal apparatus consists of the lacrimal gland and
a number of ducts that drain the lacrimal secretions into the nasal cavity.
Lacrimal Glands The lacrimal glands are located above the lateral end of each
eye. They continually release a dilute salt solution (tears) onto the anterior
surface of the eyeball through several small ducts.

Medical canthus and lateral canthus the medial and lateral corners of the eye
Tarsal (meibomian) glands Modified sebaceous glands associated with the
eyelid edges

4. Describe the gross structure and functions of the following

components of the eyeball:
Sclera (outer white layer) Protective outermost layer, fibrous layer, thick,
glistening white connective tissue, is seen anteriorly as the white of the eye.
Cornea (frontal, clear) Transparent, fibrous layer
Choroid (second layer, vascular, under sclera) Most posterior is the choroid, a
blood-rich nutritive tunic that contains a dark pigment. The pigment prevents light
from scattering inside the eye.
Cilary body (muscle) Moving anteriorly, the choroid is modified to form two
smooth muscle structures, the ciliary body
Iris (color in persons eye) The pigmented iris has a rounded opening
Lens The lens is the major light-bending (refractory) structure of the eye. Its convexity is
increased by the ciliary body for close focus.

Retina
Anterior chamber The anterior chamber is the front part of the eye

between the cornea and the iris.

Posterior chamber: The posterior chamber is between the iris and
the lens.

Aqueous chamber The lens divides the eye into two segments, or chambers.
The anterior (aqueous) segment, anterior to the lens, contains a clear watery
fluid called aqueous humor
Posterior chamber The posterior (vitreous) segment, posterior to the lens, is
filled with a gel like substance called either vitreous humor or the vitreous body
Vitreous humour Vitreous humor helps prevent the eyeball from
collapsing inward by reinforcing it internally. The vitreous chamber
is between the lens and the back of the eye.
Optic disc (blind spots) The blind spot (optic disc) is the point where the optic
nerve leaves the back of the eye

ball.
Optic nerve

5. Describe the microscopic structure of the retina under the following

headings: (p.283-285)
Pigment layer
Neural layer
o Photoreceptor cells
o Bipolar cells
o Ganglion cells
Rods The rods are most dense at the periphery, or edge, of the retina and decrease in
number as the center of the retina is approached. The rods allow us to see in gray tones
in dim light, and they provide our peripheral vision.

Cones Cones are discriminatory receptors that allow us to see the details of our world
in color under bright light conditions. They are densest in the center of the retina and
decrease in number toward the retinal edge.

Mascula lutea It is the part of the retina that is responsible for sharp, detailed
central vision (also called visual acuity). The macula lutea, also called fovea,
contains a very high concentration of cones, the light-sensitive cells in the retina
that give detailed central vision.
Fovea centralis lateral to each blind spot is the fovea centralis, a tiny pit that
contains only cones. Consequently, this is the area of greatest visual acuity, or
point of sharpest vision, and anything we wish to view critically is focused on the
fovea centralis
6. Locate the visual cortex (p.240)

THE EAR
7. Identify the two sensory centers of the ear (p.290)
8. List the three anatomical areas of the ear (p.291)
Outer, Inner, Middle
9. Describe the structure of the auricle (or pinna) (p.291)
The auricle, or pinna, is what most people call the earthe shell-shaped structure
surrounding the auditory canal opening.

10. Describe the location and shape of the external auditory canal

The external acoustic meatus (or auditory canal) is a short, narrow chamber (about 1
inch long by 14 inch wide) carved into the temporal bone of the skull.

11. Describe the structure and function of the middle ear under the
following headings:
Tympanum is a small, air-filled, mucosa-lined cavity within the temporal bone. It is
flanked laterally by the eardrum and medially by a bony wall with two openings, the oval
window and the inferior, membrane covered round window

Ossicles: malleus, incus, stapes Thetympaniccavityisspannedbythethreesmallest

bonesinthebody,whichtransmitthevibratorymotionoftheeardrumtothefluidsoftheinner
ear

Malleus (hammer) Whentheeardrummoves,thehammermoveswithitandtransfersthe

vibrationtotheanvil

Incus (anvil)Theanvil,passesthevibrationontothestirrup,whichpressesontheoval
windowoftheinnerear.

Stapes (stirrup)
Oval window
Round window
Auditory (pharyngotympanic) tube runs obliquely downward to link the middle
ear cavity with the throat, and the mucosae lining the two regions are continuous.
Normally, the pharyngotympanic tube is flattened and closed, but swallowing or
yawning can open it briefly to equalize the pressure in the middle ear cavity with
the external, or atmospheric, pressure. This is an important function because the
eardrum does not vibrate freely unless the pressure on both of its surfaces is the
same. When the pressures are unequal, the eardrum bulges inward or outward,
causing hearing difficulty (voices may sound far away) and sometimes earaches.
The ear-popping sensation of the pressures equalizing is familiar to anyone who
has flown in an airplane.
12. Describe the structure and functions of the inner ear:
Bony or osseous labyrinth The bony labyrinth is filled with plasma like fluid
called perilymph
o Perilymph (also known as Cotunnius' liquid, and liquor
cotunnii) is an extracellular fluid located within the cochlea
(part of the inner ear) in two of its three compartments: the
scala tympani and scala vestibuli. The ionic composition of

perilymph is comparable to that of plasma and

cerebrospinal fluid.
Membranous labyrinth Suspended in the perilymph is a membranous labyrinth,
a system of membrane sacs that more or less follows the shape of the bony
labyrinth. The membranous labyrinth itself contains a thicker fluid called
endolymph
o Endolymph Fluid waves occur in the endolymph in the
various parts of the membranous labyrinth in response to
fluid waves in the perilymph.

13. List the three divisions of the bony and membranous labyrinth
Cochlea
Semicircular canals and ducts
Vestibule Thevestibuleissituatedbetweenthesemicircularcanalsandthecochlea.

14. Describe which parts of the inner ear function in:

Static Equilibrium
Dynamic Equilibrium
Hearing
15. Describe the basis for how the structures of the middle ear and inner
ear function
The Middle ear structures are the ossicles and pharyngotympanic tube within
the tympanic cavity. Auditory ossicles transmit the vibratory motion from the
eardrum to the oval window. The pharyngotympanic tube allows pressure to be
equalized on both sides of the eardrum. These structures are involved with
sound transmission only.
The internal ear or bony labyrinth consists of bony chambers (cochlea,
vestibule, and semi- circular canals) in the temporal bone. The bony labyrinth
contains perilymph and membranous sacs filled with endolymph. Within the
membranous sacs of the vestibule and semicircular canals are equilibrium
receptors. Hearing receptors are found within the membranes of the cochlea.
16. Define the vestibulocochlear (acoustic) nerve (Cranial Nerve VIII)
The eighth cranial nerve. Definition (NCI) The eighth cranial nerve composed
of the acoustic nerve and the vestibular nerve. The nerve travels from the
inner ear, enters the cranial cavity through the internal auditory foramen and
joins the brainstem.