SPECIAL SENSES: VISUAL,

HEARING OR AUDITORY,
VESTIBULAR,OLFACTORY,
GUSTATORY
 ACCESSORY STRUCTURES OF THE
EYE
◆ EXTRINSIC EYE MUSCLES
◆ EYELIDS

◆ CONJUNCTIVA

◆ LACRIMAL APPARATUS
VISUAL APPARATUS

- made up of the eyeball specialized for its ability

to react to light.
COATS OF THE EYEBALL
1. Fibrous coat

- protects the delicate inner structures of the

eye and with the intraocular pressure maintain the
shape and turgor of the eyeball.
Parts:
Cornea – transparent anterior 1/6 of the fibrous
coat
Sclera – opaque posterior 5/6 of the fibrous coat
CORNEA
- transparent fibrous coat covering the colored
part of the eyes, iris.
- slightly thicker than sclera with refractive
power 2x as high as the lens.

- avascular and the central part depends on

diffusion from aqueous humor for its
nourishment.

- one of the few organs that can be

successfully transplanted without rejection
from the host.
SCLERA
- opaque posterior 5/6 of the fibrous coat
- mainly made up of densely packed collagenous
fibers (type I collagen fibrils) - where tendons
of extraocular muscles are attached

- pierced by optic nerve, ciliary nerves and blood

vessels
2. Vascular and Muscular coat or UVEA
- concerned with nutrition of retina and
production of aqueous humor
- provides mechanisms for accommodation
of the eyes for near vision and control of
amount of light entering the eye.
Parts:
1. choroid
2. ciliary body
3. iris
UVEA
CHOROID
- middle coat of the eye
- blood-rich nutritive tunic that
contains a dark pigment that
prevents light from scattering
inside the eye
CILIARY BODY
- a thickening of the vascular tunic
- connects choroid with circumference of
iris
- with ciliary muscle for accomodation
- when ciliary muscle contracts, the lens
becomes more convex
- with ciliary process producing aqueous
humor
IRIS
- heavily pigmented colored part of eye
- acts like a diaphragm with a central opening called pupil.
Smooth muscle in iris control the amount of lights going to
the retina
- rest on anterior surface of the lens, thus it separates the
anterior chamber from the posterior chamber.
- main mass consists of loose, pigmented, highly vascular
connective tissue.

- with 2 smooth muscles:

1. sphincter pupillae – circumferentially oriented fibers
- constriction of pupils - parasympathetic
2. dilator pupillae – radially oriented fibers
- dilation of pupils - sympathetic
3. Nervous coat
- Retina
RETINA
- innermost layer where receptors for sense of sight are found
- nervous coat of the eyeball containing the photoreceptor cells
Photoreceptors:
1. Rods
- stimulated by low intensity light
- for night vision (scotopic vision)
- contains reddish pigment,
RHODOPSIN. Very sensitive and produces detectable signal on
absorption of a single photon of light
2. Cones
- stimulated by high intensity light
for day vision/color vision (photopic) sensitive to blue, green
and red lights.
And the differences in absorption of these 3 kinds provide
basis for color vision.
REFRACTIVE MEDIA OF THE EYE
- the transparent structures traversed by the
light rays on the way to the photoreceptors of
the retina.
- These structures can bend or refract the light
rays so the images can be focused on the retina.
Parts:
◆ cornea
◆ aqueous humor
◆ lens
◆ vitreous humor
Clinical Focus 9Aa
Clinical Focus 9Ab
Clinical Focus 9Ac
Clinical Focus 9Ad
VISUAL PATHWAY & VISUAL FIELDS DEFECTS
I
1. Right optic nerve lesion
Anopsia of right eye
2. Lesion of both lateral parts of optic chiasm
Binasal Heteronymous hemianopsia
3. Lesion of medial part of optic chiasm Bitemporal
heteronymous hemianopsia
4. Right optic tract lesion *
5. Right optic radiation lesion *
6. Right calcarine area lesion *
*Left homonymous hemianopsia
 Made up of 3 parts:

I. External ear:
pinna or auricle
external acoustic meatus
II. Middle ear (tympanic cavity)
- ossicles (MALLEUS, INCUS
STAPES)
- tensor tympani, stapedius
III. Internal ear (Labyrinth)
 OUTER (EXTERNAL EAR)
• 1. PINNA OR AURICLE
• = shell shaped structure surrounding the auditory canal opening

• 2. EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL

• = a short narrow chamber (about 1 inch long by ½ inch wide)
• Curved into temporal bone of the skull
• Skin of walls lined with ceruminous glands which secrete a waxy
yellow substance called earwax or cerum

• 3. TYMPANIC MEMBRANE OR EARDRUM

• - a thin membrane separating outer from middle ear
2. MIDDLE EAR
- a small, air-filled cavity within the temporal bone
a. medial boundary-a bony wall with 2 openings:
oval window
round window
b. Lateral boundary – tympanic membrane with
handle of the malleus attached

c. Anterior boundary – Eustachian tube (connects

middle ear and nasopharynx)
d. Posterior boundary – mastoid process

OSSICLES IN THE MIDDLE EAR:

Malleus (hammer) attached to tympanic membrane

Incus (anvil)
Stapes (stirrups) – presses on the oval window of the inner ear
 3. INNER (INTERNAL) EAR

Composed of 2 parts:
I. Bony Labyrinth:
- wall is bony – temporal bone
- fluid inside is perilymph
Made up of:
a. Cochlea – made up of scala vestibuli and tympani
- concerned with hearing
b. Vestibule – concerned with static equilibrium
c. 3 semicircular canals – concerned with dynamic
equilibrium
 II. Membranous labyrinth

- found inside the bony labyrinth

- wall is fibrous
- fluid inside is endolymph

a. Scala media – inside bony cochlea

b. Utricle & Saccule – inside bony vestibule
c. 3 semicircular ducts – inside the semicircular canal
- fluid inside the bony labyrinth- perilymph
- fluid inside the membranous labyrinth – endolymph
Receptor for Hearing – “Organ of Corti” - cochlea
COCHLEA
- a spiral bony canal turning 2 ¾ around
a central bony axis called MODIOLUS.
- a spiral bony projection from modiolus
called SPIRAL LAMINA makes also a 2 ¾
turns.
This incompletely divides the bony cochlea
into 2:
a. scala vestibuli
b. scala tympani
- Scala Vestibuli and
Tympani contain
perilymph. They
communicate in
HELICOTREMA.
- scala media
contains endolymph
 TECTORIAL MEMBRANE

- composed of five
filaments embedded in
gelatinous matrix rich in
mucopolysaccharides
- secreted at the
upper surface of
INTERDENTAL CELLS
BASILAR MEMBRANE
Figure 9.19
Auditory center
 2 TYPES OF DEAFNESS
1. CONDUCTION DEAFNESS
- temporary or permanent
- disease of external and middle ear
e.g. impacted cerumen
otosclerosis – (fusion of ossicles)
rupture of eardrum
otitis media
2. SENSORINEURAL
- degeneration or damage to receptor cells, to
cochler nerve, or to neurons of auditory cortex
due to old age (presbycusis), extended listening to
excessively loud sounds, intake of ototoxic drugs
1. Weber’s Test
base of vibrating tuning fork is
applied to the forehead in the midline
a. Normal – sound – midline

b. conduction –sound louder in the

affected ear
c. Sensorineural – sound louder in the

normal ear
2. RINNE’s TEST
= base of tuning fork is placed over the mastoid
process of the skull
= when it can no longer be heard, it is removed
and then is held in front of the ear
a. Normal- air conduction> bone conduction
b. Conduction deafness
bone conduction > air conduction
c. Sensorineural deafness
both are diminished but air conduction
remains better than bone conduction
VESTIBULAR APPARATUS
FUNCTIONS:

1. maintains body balance

2. coordinates eye, head and body
movements
3. permits the eyes to remain fixed on a
point in space as the head moves
 Vestibular Organs

-vestibule and the semicircular canals are

components of the bony labyrinth associated
with balance
- membranous part of each includes a special
sensory organ composed of:
RECEPTORS:

1. Crista ampullaris- for angular acceleration

- found in the dilatations of semicircular ducts
called ampulla
- contains gelatinous substance called cupula
Figure 9.23b
 Macula
– found in the vestibule
- Stimulated by linear acceleration
- Contains gelatinous substance called otolithic membrane containing
otoconia, which are calcium carbonate crystals

- DYNAMIC FUNCTION
- Mediated largely by the semicircular canals
- Can detect motion of head in space

- STATIC FUNCTIONS
- Mediated mostly by the utricle
- Allow detection of the position of the head in relation to gravity
- Important in control of posture
Figure 9.20
1. UTRICLE – largest membranous component of the
vestibular system

2. SACCULE - spherical and smaller

- communicates with the cochlear duct through
the short narrow ductus reuniens and with the
utricle through the utriculo-saccular duct.
3. ENDOLYMPHATIC DUCT
– tubular evagination of the utriculosaccular
duct
- it terminates as a blind expansion called the
endolymphatic sac
Figure 9.20a
VESTIBULAR NUCLEI
1. Superior – vestibular
nucleus of Bechterew
2. Inferior –descending spinal
3. Medial – vestibular nucleus
of Schwalbe
4. Lateral – vestibular nucleus
of Deither
-Will have ascending fibers
synapsing with somatic motor
neurons of CN III, IV, VI
for movement of eyeballs

-will have descending fibers to

the spinal cord controlling the
anti-gravity muscles
OLFACTION

Receptor: olfactory epithelium located in the

upper 1/3 of each nasal mucosa
= stimulated by chemicals (chemoreceptor)
dissolved in the mucus, they transmit impulses
along olfactory nerve to olfactory center in the
temporal lobe (uncus – Brodmann’s Area 34)
= closely tied with the limbic system
(emotional-visceral part of the brain)
Olfaction
Figure 9.3b
Olfactory pathway
Gustatory
TASTE RECEPTORS: taste buds

TASTE BUDS
- most are localized in the tongue
- few found on the soft palate, inner surface
of the cheeks, walls of oropharynx
- cylindrical taste bud is composed of many
sensory gustatory cells that are encapsulated
by supporting cells
TASTE PORE

- opening in the taste buds where the

gustatory hairs (sensitive portion of receptor

cell) pass through

- dorsal surface of tongue is covered with small
peglike projections
 Papillae
1. Circumvallate
2. Fungiform
3. Foliate
4. Filiform- contains
only gustatory
cells
Taste sites on the tongue
- sweet- sugar, saccharine, some amino
acids
- salt- metal ions
- bitter- alkaloids
- sour- hydrogen ions, acidity
 Gustatory center
Termination of
the gustatory
pathway is at
the area located
in the opercular
part of the post
central gyrus
( Brodmann’s
Area 43)
BA 43
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