Endocrine System

Human Anatomy.
Sensory system
3rd ESO.
12 de octubre de 2015

Sensory System
The sensory system is responsible for perceiving stimuli from the environment by the sense
organs, sending this information to the central nervous system in order to be interpreted.

The sensory system is made up of five sense with their respective sense organs: sight,
hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Sight
Characteristics
This is the sense responsible for perceiving electromagnetic radiation from the environment
or, in other words, light. Its sense organ is the eye. We are able to perceive electromagnetic
radiation with wave-lengths from 400 nm to 700 nm, known as the visible light spectrum

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(lower radiation, such as ultraviolet rays, or higher radiations such as infrared rays are not
visible).

Sight is, in human beings, the predominant sense.

Eye Anatomy
Eyes are the main organs of sight. Their receptor structure is made up of a layer of cells that
perceive light, surrounded and protected by a group of accessory structures.

There are internal and external accessory structures. One of the external structures are the
eyelids. These are skin folds that cover the external part of the eye and close when in order
to prevent the eye from being damaged by light when it is very intense. Eyelids also protect
eyes from being damaged by blows. Finally, they extend lubricating fluids over the eye
surface.

There are a group of long and thick hairs on the eyelids edge called eyelashes. They protect
the eye from little particles, that are captured by the hairs.

The eyebrows are a group of hairs that form a sort of arc above the eye. Their function is
preventing sweat and water that run down from the upper part of the head from falling into
the eye.

There are group of glands associated located in the edge of the eyelids, called Meibomian
glands (also known as tarsal glands). They lubricate the eye surface and protect them from
infections.

Finally, the Lacrimal Glands are located in the upper lateral part of the orbit, and they are
responsible for humidifying the eye surface. They produce tears that cover the eye surface
and flow to the canals situated in the internal corner of the eye, that are connected to the
lacrimal sac to drain the liquid.

The sensitive part of the eye is enclosed in a structure called ocular globe. Its diameter is
between two and three centimetres long. And its surface can be divided into three
consecutive layers, called fibrous, vascular and nervous tunics.

• Fibrous tunic: this is the outermost covering of the ocular globe. It has two parts. The
anterior one is called the cornea, and the posterior one is called the sclerotic. The
cornea is a transparent fibrous tissue that covers the iris. Its shape is curved in order to
focus and concentrate the incident light. The sclerotic is a dense layer made up of
connective tissue, that covers the posterior or internal part of the ocular globe. It has a
hole that is crossed by the optic nerve.

• Vascular tunic: this is the intermediate layer. It has three parts called the choroid, ciliary
body and iris.

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• Choroid: it is an extremely vascularised layer that covers the posterior part of the
ocular globe in order to irrigate the retina.

• Ciliary Body: it is located in the anterior part of the ocular globe, behind the
cornea, covering the entrance of the incident light. It has a muscle called the
ciliary muscle that surrounds an internal structure called the crystalline. The
crystalline is a transparent structure in the shape of a biconvex lens. It is
responsible for projecting and focusing the incident light on the retina. The ciliary
muscle changes the curvature of the crystalline so it can focus on the retina the
image of different objects, depending on the distance they are.

• Iris: this is the outermost part of the vascular tunic. It is a disc with a central hole
called pupil. Light crosses the pupil to reach the crystalline. This internal hole of
the pupil can change its diameter in order to control the amount of light that
crosses the iris to reach the retina. When it is dark, the pupil dilates to perceive
more light, when it is bright the pupil contracts to prevent the light from causing
damage to the retina.

• Nervous Tunic (Retina): this layer covers the internal surface of the posterior part of the
ocular globe. It is responsible for perceiving light, due to the activity of the
photoreceptors, called rods and cones.

The crystalline, located behind the iris, is a transparent structure working as biconvex lens.
The ciliary muscle can change the crystalline curvature, so that the light rays converge on
the retina. On the one hand, when an object is very close to the eye, the crystalline must be
as curved as possible to focus it on the retina. On the other hand, when an object is far
away from the eye, the crystalline must not be curved to focus on the object. As a result,
focusing closer objects causes fatigue, because the ciliary muscle must be contracted.

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Watching distant objects, however, is not so hard because the ciliary muscle must be
relaxed.

The ocular globe has three chambers. The first one, called anterior chamber, is located
between the cornea and the iris. The second one, called posterior chamber, is smaller and it
is located between the iris and the crystalline. These two chambers are filled with a fluid
called aqueous humour. The third one is bigger, is called vitreous chamber and is filled with
a liquid called vitreous humour.

The eyes moves due to the action of six ocular muscles. There are four rectus muscles and
two oblique muscles. There are also other muscles responsible for the contraction of the iris
(they change the diameter of the pupil).

Eye physiology
The light from the exterior crosses the cornea, reaches the iris, which is responsible for
controlling the amount of light that passes to the crystalline and is concentred on the retina.

The retina has two types of photoreceptors called cones and rods. Cones are responsible
for perceiving different colours, whereas rods are responsible for black and white vision.
Rods need a significant amount of light to work.

When the photoreceptors perceive a stimuli they send a signal to the optic nerve. It
transmits the information to the brain, that is responsible for analysing the stimuli,
transforming then into images.

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Taste
Anatomy of taste sense
Taste is a chemical sense or, in other words, the receptors are stimulated by chemical
substances dissolved in the mouth. Although the chemoreceptors of the taste sense are
mainly on the thong, a part of the taste sense derives from the olfactory receptors of the
nose, due to the aromas that ascend through the nasopharynx.

The taste chemoreceptors are in a group of structures on the mouth called taste-buds. An
adult human has, on average, 10,000 taste-buds, although the number of buds tends to
descend over the years. The taste-buds have receptor cells with microvilli that perceive
chemical stimuli.

The taste buds are placed in prominent structures of the tongue called lingual papillae.
These papillae make the tongue surface slightly rough. There are several types:

• Circumvalate papillae: the biggest and least abundant type of papillae. They are dome-
shaped structures, located in the posterior part of the tongue.

• Fungiform papillae: mushroom shaped structures. They are located in anterior and
lateral zones of the tongue.

• Filiform papillae: cylindrical structures, similar to little threads. They are very abundant in
anterior and central parts of the tongue.

• Foliate papillae: short vertical folds, located in the lateral regions of the tongue.

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Taste Physiology
When a chemical substance is detected by the papillae, after being dissolved in saliva, the
chemical receptor sends a signal to its associated neutron. This signal is transmitted to the
central nervous system.

There are only five basic or primary tastes: bitter, sweet, sour, salt and umami, also known
as savoury. The taste of a food is a mixture of these five basic tastes. The anterior part of
the tongue (the tip of the tongue) is more sensitive for sweet and salty sensations. The
posterior part of the tongue is more sensitive for bitter sensations. The lateral parts of the
tongue are more sensitive for sour sensations.

After perceiving a stimuli, the taste sense tends to adapt to it, reducing the intensity of the
sensation. It is called palate fatigue. Bitter substances are not so prone to cause
adaptation, probably because many poisonous substances are bitter.

Olfactory System
Anatomy and physiology of the olfactory system
This is, like taste, a chemical sense, based on chemoreceptors. It is not a specially well
developed sense in human beings (above all, if we compare it to the olfactory system of
other mammalians).

There are between 10 and 100 million chemoreceptors, located in the upper region of the
nasal cavity called nasal epithelium. It is 5cm2, and it has receptor cells disseminated
between ordinary epithelial cells that support the tissue and Bowman's glands that produce
mucus to humidify the nasal cavity surface and dissolve the internal gases. When the gases
are dissolved by the chemical substances can reach the receptors.

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Human beings can detect many different smells. It has been impossible to reduce them to
any group of primary or basic smells and there could probably be hundreds.

When a chemical substance reaches the proper receptor, it sends an impulse to the central
nervous system by an associated neurone. The axons of these neurones cross the ethmoid
bone, that forms the roof of the nasal cavity. The part of the ethmoid bone that is crossed
by the neurones is called cribriform plate. Just above this plate, there is a part of the brain
called olfactory bulb. The information is transmitted from the receptors to the olfactory
bulb, and then to the frontal lobe of the brain, where it is analysed.

The olfactory system easily adapts to the odors after prolonged exposure, in a similar way
to what happens with taste. This process is called olfactory fatigue.

Hearing
Ear Anatomy
The ear is responsible for perceiving sound waves, or in other words, vibrations of the air
particles. The sound waves reach the auricles, on both sides of the head, and are
transmitted to the interior.

The ear transforms this mechanic wave into a nervous impulse. In addition, the internal ear
has the structures to control balance.

The ear has three parts called outer, middle and inner ear.

• Outer ear: it perceives the sound waves from the exterior and transmits it to the interior.
It is made up of the auricle, the ear canal and the ear drum.

• Auricle: also known as pinna. It is made up of elastic cartilage covered by a thin

skin. Its function is transmitting the sound from the exterior to the ear canal.

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• Ear canal: this is a two centimetre long canal. It is covered by hairs and a
secretion of cerumen that prevents debris from penetrating the canal. It ends in
the eardrum.

• Eardrum: it is a membrane made of fibrous connective tissue. It vibrates when

the sound reaches the end of the canal. So, it transmits the vibration of the air
particles to the interior of the middle ear.

• Middle ear: it is also called tympanic cavity. In this part of the ear, the vibration of the
drum is transmitted to the inner ear. This transmission is carried out by a chain made of
three small bones called Malleus (or hammer), Incus and Stapes. The malleus is
attached to the eardrum, the incus is the intermediate bone and the stapes is the last
one, so it is attached to the oval window of the inner ear. They transmit the air vibration
from the eardrum to the inner ear. This cavity is, besides, communicated with the larynx
through a narrow duct called Eustachian tube. This tube prevents the ear from damage
caused by differences in the pressure between the outer and middle ear.

• Inner Ear: it is made up of a complex tubular system. Due to this, it is also called
labyrinth. It has three parts: the semicircular canals, the vestibule and the cochlea. All
the inner ear is internally filled with a fluid called endolymph, and externally protected by
a fluid called perilymph. The vestibule is the central part of the inner ear. It is oval
shaped and it is made up of two sacs, called saccule and utricle. The receptors for
balance can be found in this zone. Three arc shaped structures called semicircular
canals start in the upper part of vestibule. And just bellow the vestibule there is a spiral
structure called cochlea. The real auditive organ, called Corti's organ can be found in
the interior part of the cochlea.

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Ear Physiology
The sound waves reach the auricle and are transmitted through the ear canal to the
eardrum the eardrum vibrates due to the energy of the sound waves, and this vibration is
transmitted from the eardrum to the malleus, that moves the incus and then the incus
moves the stapes. The movement of the stapes is transmitted to the internal membranes of
the inner ear, causing the movement of the endolymph through the complex internal canals
of the labyrinth. It is perceived by sensorial cells that cover the interior of the labyrinth and
send the information to the Corti's organ. The Corti's organ transmits the signal to the
central nervous system through the auditory nerve.

The auditory centre is located in the temporal zone of the brain.

The ordinary movements of the body cause a movement of the endolymph in the
semicircular canals. The canals are perpendicular one another. As a result, the movements
of the head are transmitted to the endolymph of the semicircular canals and they move in
different way depending on its position and angle. The canals send information to the brain.
According to the movement of the fluid in each canal, the brain detect the global movement
of the body and the global balance.

Touch
Touch anatomy and physiology
It perceives stimuli from the exterior. Some mechanical stimuli, such as pressure, contact,
vibration or temperature are detected by receptors located in the skin. These sensations
can have different intensity or can even activate nociceptors that are specific to pain.

The touch receptor can mainly be found in the dermis. There are two types: free nerve
endings or corpuscles and receptor corpuscles. There are many different corpuscles, such
as Paccini, Ruffini or Meisser receptors. There are also receptors associated to hair follicles.

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The receptors are connected to afferent neurones that send the information to the afferent
nerves that transmit the impulse to the central nervous system, first to the spinal cord and
then to the brain. The sensitive area is located in the brain cortex. This are is responsible for
mapping the information to locate and interpret the stimuli.

The stimuli for pain are not transported to the sensitive cortex, but to the thalamus. In this
brain region the mapping of the sensation is not so precise, so the pain sensations are more
diffuse.

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