SPECIAL SENSES

Pathophysiology
VISION
Achromatopsia • Congenital deficiency in color perception
• Also called as “COLOR BLINDESS”
• Can only perceive black, white, and shades of
gray
• It is more common in men.
Causes and Treatment
• Damage to the cerebral cortex of the brain – “Cerebral achromoptasia” a form of acquired color
blindness
• Damage in the thalamus area usually by tumor growth. – “Thalamic achromatopsia”
• Genetic inheritance

• No treatments are available yet however research on gene therapy is ongoing and may lead to
clinical treatments in the future
 • Degenerative disease in which the lens of the
Cataract becomes progressively cloudy, causing decreased
vision.
• Result of the aging process, caused by protein
deposits on the surface of the lens that slowly
build up until vision is lost.
• Common in elderly people and can occur on one
or both eyes
Causes and Treatment
• Ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and other sources.
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Prolonged use of corticosteroid or statin medications

• Treatment includes surgical intervention to remove cataract.

Glaucoma
• Condition in which aqueous humor fails to drain
properly and accumulates in the anterior chamber
of the eye, causing elevated intraocular pressure
(IOP).
• Damages the optic nerve responsible for
transmitting images.
• Leads to total blindness without proper treatment
.
• A leading cause of blindness in elderly people
 Types of Glaucoma
Open-Angle Glaucoma
• Most common
• Results from degenerative changes
that cause congestion and reduce
flow of aqueous humor through the
canal of Schlemm.
• Painless but destroys peripheral
vision, causing tunnel vision.
Closed-Angle Glaucoma
• Caused by an anatomically narrow angle
between iris and the cornea which
prevents outflow of aqueous humor
from the eye into lymphatic system,
causing sudden increase in IOP.
• Constitutes an emergency situation
• Symptoms include severe pain, blurred
vision, and photophobia
Causes and Treatment
• Excess aqueous production
• Blockage of the trabecular meshwork
• Stress

• Treatment includes miotics (eyedrops) that cause the pupils to constrict, permitting aqueous
humor to escape from the eye, thereby, relieving pressure. If miotics are ineffective, sugery may be
necessary
• Vitamin B may reduce the risks of glaucoma.
 HEARING
AND BALANCE
 • Benign tumor that develops from the eighth
cranial (vestibulocochlear) nerve and grows
within the auditory canal.
• Depending on the location and size of the tumor,
progressive hearing loss, headache, facial
numbness, dizziness, and an unsteady gait may
result.

Acoustic neuroma
Causes and Treatment
• Tumor

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
Meniere Disease

• Rare disorder of unknown etiology within the

inner ear that can lead to a progressive loss of
hearing.
• Symptoms: vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus and
sensation of pressure in the ear
Causes and Treatment
• a medication to reduce fluid retention (diuretic)
• limit salt intake
 • Inflammation of the middle ear.
• Commonly the result of an upper respiratory
infection (URI).
• Common in newborn babies and younger
children.

Otitis Media
Causes and Treatment
• Cigarette smoke and pollution
• Flu or allergies
• Infection

• Applying warm compress to the affected area

• Eardrops
• Analgesics
• Antibiotics
• Surgery
OLFACTION
Anosmia • Loss of sense of smell either partial or total
• Also leads to a difficulty in the perception of
taste
• Most anosmics have a food disorder
Causes and Treatment
• No treatment
Troposmia
• an olfactory dysfunction that is characterized by
the inability of the brain to properly identify an
odor's "natural" smell.
• Opposite of euosmia
Causes and Treatment
• Head injury or brain trauma
• Bacterial or viral infection
• Smoking
• Cancer side effect
• Neurological conditions

• Zinc and Vitamin A

• Surgery
Phantosmia

• also called an olfactory hallucination or a

phantom odor is smelling an odor that is not
actually there.
• It can occur in one nostril or both.
Causes and Treatment
• head injury
• upper respiratory infection
• temporal lobe seizures, inflamed sinuses
• brain tumors
• Neurological conditions

• rinsing nasal passages with a saline solution

• using oxymetazoline spray to reduce nasal congestion
• using an anesthetic spray to numb your olfactory nerve cells
GUSTATION
 • a reduced ability to taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty,
and savory (umami)

Hypogeusia
Causes and Treatment
• chemotherapy drug bleomycin
• Radiation therapy
• smoking
• antitumor antibiotic
• antidepressants
• zinc deficiency

• Intranasal theophylline treatment

• Zinc
Dysgeusia

• Dysgeusia is a condition in which a foul, salty,

rancid, or metallic taste sensation will persist in
the mouth.
Causes and Treatment
• chemotherapy
• asthma treatment with albuterol
• zinc deficiency

• Zinc
• Lactose placebo
 • the loss of taste functions of the tongue,
particularly the inability to detect sweetness,
sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami.
• Rare

Ageusia
Causes and Treatment
• Radiation therapy
• Smoking
• Respiratory infections
• Chemotherapy

• Decongestants
• Antibiotics
• However, ageusia related to aging or physical trauma are not treatable
THANK YOU
Sources
• https://www.medicinenet.com
• https://www.webmd.com
• https://www.healthline.com
• https://www.verywellhealth.com
• https://www.aafp.org/
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com