Lesson 7: The Sensory System

Overview:

The sensory system consists of sensory receptors, neural

pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception.
Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for vision,
hearing, somatic sensation (touch), taste and olfaction (smell).

I. Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, the students can be able to:

1. Explain the different senses of human being

2. Discuss the receptor of each senses, and
3. Determine the function of each senses

II. Materials: Laptop, Google App, Zoom App, Microscoft

Word Office.

III. References: MDO0582 EDITION 100

IV. Lesson Proper:

The Sensory System

The Sensory System, the central nervous system

receives information from the internal and external
environment via the sensory organs. Sensory organs are
able to “sense” this information because of specialized
receptors. When receptors are triggered, it causes an
action potential in the sensory neuron.

The Sensory Organs

1. Skin (external)
2. Tongue
3. Nose
4. Ears
5. Eyes
 Types of Sensory Receptors

1. Mechanoreceptors – stimulated by changes in

pressure or movement found in skin and muscles.
2. Thermo receptors – stimulated by changes in
temperature found in skin.
3. Pain receptors – stimulated by tissue damage found
in skin and viscera.
4. Chemoreceptors – stimulated by changes in chemical
concentration of substances.
5. Photoreceptors- stimulated by light found only in the
eye.

Sense of touch. Mechanoreceptors in the skin and viscera detect

varying degrees of pressure. Free nerve endings have pain
receptors and thermo receptors. Sense of touch- pain. Pain is
caused by chemicals released by inflamed tissues. Aspirin and
Ibuprofen reduce pain by blocking synthesis of these chemicals
referred pain-inside the body’s organs, pain is often felt in another
area. Ex. Pain from the heart is felt in the left shoulder and arm.
 Senses of Taste and Smell Taste. Smell are “chemical senses”.
Taste – tastebuds containing chemoreceptors are found in the
epithelium of the tongue. Papillae (bumps) on the tongue contain
many receptors. Receptors can distinguish between sweet, sour,
salty, and bitter taste. Smell – within nasal cavity, chemoreceptors
in the olfactory bulb are stimulated by odor molecules. Smell have
been shown to be linked to memories because the olfactory bulb
is linked to the limbic system of the brain.

Sense of Hearing

The External Ear. The external ears begins on the

outside of the head in form of a funnel-shaped auricle
(pinna). Actually serving as a funnel, the auricle directs
airborne sound waves into the external auditory meatus. The
external auditory meatus is a tubular canal extending into the
temporal portion of the skull.

The Middle Ear. The middle ear is also called the

tymparic cavity. It is a small epithelial-lined, air-filled cavity
hollowed out of the temporal bone. The eardrum separates
this cavity from external ear. The cavity is separated from
the internal ear by a thin bony partition that contains two
small openings, the oral oval window and the round window.

(1) Tympanic membrane. At the inner end of the

external auditory meatus is the tympanic
membrane. The tympanic membrane (eardrum) is
a circular membrane which separates the external
auditory meatus from the middle ear cavity. The
tympanic membrane vibrates (mechanically
oscillates) in response to airborne sound waves.
(2) Middle ear cavity. On the medial side of the
tympanic membrane is the middle ear cavity. The
middle ear cavity is a space within the temporal
bone.
(3) Auditory ossicles. The auditory ossicles
(ossicles=small bone) are three, very small bones
which is form a chain across the middle ear cavity.
(4) Auditory (Eustachian) tube. The auditory tube is a
passage connecting the middle ear cavity with the
nasopharynx. The auditory tube maintains equal
air pressure on the two sides of the tympanic
membrane.
(5) Association with other spaces. The middle ear
cavity is associated with other spaces in the skull.
The thin roof of the middle ear cavity is the floor of
part of the canal cavity. The middle ear cavity is
continuous posteriorly with the air cells via the
antrum (an upper posterior recess of the middle
ear cavity.

The Internal Ear. Because of its complicated

series of canals, the internal ear is also the labyrinth.
There are two main divisions of a body labyrinth and
membranous labyrinth that fits into the body labyrinth.

(1) Labyrinths
(a) Bony labyrinth. The bony labyrinth
(LABYRINTH=a maze)is a complex
cavity within the temporal bone. It has
three semicircular canals, a
vestibule(hallway), a snail-shaped
portion.
 (b) Membranous labyrinth. The
membranous labyrinth is a hollow
tubular structure suspended within the
bony labyrinth.
(2) Fluids of the internal ear. The endolymph
is a fluid filling the space within the
membranous labyrinth. The perilymph is a
fluid filling the space between the
membranous labyrinth and bony labyrinth.
(3) The cochlea. The cochlea is a spiral
structure associated with hearing. It has 2-
1/2 turns. Its outer boundaries are formed
by the snail-shaped portion of the body
labyrinth.

Sense of Sight.

Anatomy of the Eye.

1. Sclera – protection (white of eye).

2. Cornea- the transparent part of the coat of the eyeball that
covers the iris and pupil and admits light to the interior.
3. Retina- the sensory membrane that lines the eye, is
composed of several layers including one containing the
rods and cones, and functions as the immediate instrument
of vision by receiving the image formed by the lens and
 converting it into chemical and nervous signals which reach
the brain by way of the optic nerve.
4. Rods- black and white vision.
5. Pods- black and white vision.
6. Cones- color vision.
7. Optic nerve- either of the second pair of cranial nerves that
pass from the retina to the optic chiasma and conduct visual
stimuli to the brain.
8. Lens- focuses light. A piece of transparent material (such as
glass) that has two opposite regular surfaces either both
curved or one curved and the other plane and that is used
either singly or combined in an optical instrument for forming
an image by focusing rays of light.
9. Ciliary body and muscle- holds lens in plsvce
10. Pupil- admits light.
11. Iris- regulates lights entrance (muscle)

How we see

1. Light enters through the pupil. The iris can contract or dilate
to allow different amounts of light into the eye.

2. Light passes through the lens and vitreous humor to the back
of the eye, the retina. The lens can change shape to focus light
through accommodation. Object is far  the lens flattens. Object
is near the lens rounds.
The image projected from the lens on the back of the eye is
upside down.

3. The retina has photoreceptor cells that detect light and send
impulses to the brain.

Rods – black and white vision

sensitive to light; night vision

Cones – color vision & detail

Sensitive to bright light

Blue, green, and red pigment cones detect different

wavelengths of light.

4. Impulses from the rods and cones in the retina are sent to the
optic nerve. This spot on the retina has not rods or cones and
creates a blind spot.

5. The optic nerves from each eye cross at the optic chiasm.
Input from the right eye goes to the left occipital lobe. Input from
the left eye goes to the right occipital lobe

6. Visual integration centres in the occipital lobe process visual

input

COMMON SENRORY SYSTEM CONDITION

 The sensory system is a part of the nervous system
responsible for processing sensory information, meaning
things we see, hear, touch, smell. and taste. Below is the
list of the common conditions of the sensory system.

1. Blindness / Visual impairment- blindness is a general

term to describe a general lack of vision. It may also
refer to a loss of vision that cannot be corrected.
2. Cataract- is clouding area over the front part of the
eye – an area that is normally transparent. It can
affect either one eye or both eyes. Cataracts can be
so small that they do not impact vision at all or they
can be quiet large and lead to loss of vision.
3. Deafness – Hearing impairment or hearing loss is a
partial or total inability to hear.
4. Glaucoma – is a condition in which the normal fluid
pressure inside the eyes slowly rises as a result of the
fluid- which normally flows in and out of the eye-not
being able to drain properly. Instead, the fluid collects
and causes pressure damage to the optic nerve (a
bundle of more than 1 million nerve fibers that
connects the retina with the brain.
5. Microphthalmia- is an eye abnormality where one or
both eyeballs are abnormally small in some children ,
the eye may appear to be completely missing;
however, even in these cases some remaining eye
tissue is generally present. Severe cases are
sometimes labelled as anophthalmia, which means no
eyeball has formed at all.
6. Nystagmus – is any form of involuntary, rhythmic eye
movement. It may occur in horizontal, vertical or
semicircular paths. Nystagmus usually involves both
eyes and is often exaggerated by looking in a
particular direction.
7. Ptosis (Droopy eyelid)- is a condition in which one or
both of a child’s upper eyelids droops. It is caused by
a poorly develop levarator muscle(this is the muscle
that lifts the eyelid upwards).
8. Sensory processing disorder- other names sensory
integration disorder, sensory integration
dysfunction(SI dysfunction) and dysfunction in
sensory nervous system receives messages from the
senses and turns them into appropriate motor and
behavioural responses. Sensory processing disorder
is a condition that exist when sensory signals don’t
get organized into appropriate responses.
 9. Strabismus- other names cross eyes, wall eyes. With
strabismus one or both eyes may turn inward,
outward, upward, or downward. An eye turn be
constant (when the eye turns all of the time) or
intermittent (turning only some of the time, such as,
under stressful conditions or when ill).

V. Evaluation:
MULTIPLE CHOICES
Direction: Read the questions carefully and choose the
right answer from the four possibilities. (5points each)

1. What is sensory processing?

a. Combining information from senses to respond to
change in the environment.
b. Ability to taste a substance
c. Combining visual and auditory information.
d. Light reflecting off an object.
2. Where the sensory processing does takes place?
a. Eye
b. Hands
c. Mouth
d. Brain
3. What organ controls the special sense of sight?
a. The ears
b. The tongue
c. The eye
d. The hands
4. Why sensory processing is important?
a. Helps the hands feel the pressure and
temperature.
b. Helps the nose sense smell.
c. Helps us better interact with the environment.
d. Helps the ability to detect sound or vibration.
5. What type of receptor involved in smell and taste?
a. Chemoreceptor
b. Thermoreceptor
c. Photoreceptor
d. Tastebud
6. What is the name of the white portion of the eye”?
a. Sclera
b. Lens
c. Pupil
d. Retina
7. What is the other name for olfaction?
a. Taste
 b. Smell
c. Touch
d. Hearing
8. Where do you find tastebuds?
a. On the tongue
b. On the walls of the mouth
c. At the back of the throat

d. All of the above.

a. a or e
9. What is the name of condition in which clouding area
over the front part of the eye , it can affect either one
eye or both eyes.
a. Cataract
b. Ptosis
c. Deafness
d. Blindness
10. The ear drum is otherwise known as?
a. Auditory Canal
b. Tympanic membrane
c. Pinna
d. Oval window
11. What part of the ear that functions in hearing?
a. Cochlea
b. Semicircular canals
c. Labyrinth
d. Round window
12. When a person enter in a dark room their pupils
______ to allow more light to enter their eyes.
b. Constrict
c. Curve
d. Dilate
13. What is the other name for olfaction?
e. Taste
f. Smell
g. Touch
h. Hearing
14. What type of receptor involved in smell and taste?
e. Chemoreceptor
f. Thermoreceptor
g. Photoreceptor
h. Tastebud
15. The ear drum is otherwise known as?
e. Auditory Canal
f. Tympanic membrane
g. Pinna
 h. Oval window

VI. Assignment:
Direction: Read and understand the statements carefully
and give the corresponding answers precisely. (10 points
each)

1. List the (5) five senses and give each importance and
function.
2. List at least 5 parts of each sense (touch, smell, taste, sight
and hearing).
3. What will be the possible happen to the human if there’s no
have senses?
4. Explain the implication of this subject/topic to us and how we
are going to apply this someday as a teacher?