The document summarizes key aspects of the human senses of taste, touch, sight, and their associated sensory organs. It describes the main taste receptors on the tongue and their role in perceiving the five basic tastes. It also outlines the main mechanoreceptors in skin responsible for sensing touch. Regarding sight, it details the main parts of the eye and retina, and how light stimulation leads to vision. It discusses accommodating for near and far vision and common visual disorders like myopia.

1. UNIT 2:
SENSE ORGANS –
EYES, TONGUE AND
SKIN
•
Campbell et.al, 2010 –
CHAPTER 50

2. INTRODUCTION: SENSE ORGANS
Sensations and perceptions begin with
sensory reception, detection of stimuli by
sensory receptors.
Sensory receptors can detect stimuli
outside and inside the body.
Sensory receptors fall into five categories:
 Mechanoreceptors
 Chemoreceptors
 Electromagnetic receptors
 Thermoreceptors
 Pain receptors

3. 2. CHEMICAL SENSES: TASTE
The receptors responsible for taste are
called– CHEMORECEPTORS
Gustation (taste) is dependent on the
detection of chemicals called tastants.

4. SENSE OF TASTE
Taste receptors = TASTE BUDS
Taste buds are located on tongue(mainly), hard
palate, pharynx and epiglottis.
The tongue very rough, due to numerous
papillae.
3 Types of papillae:
- Fungiform- found on front and sides of
tongue.
- Foliate found on front 2/3 of tongue
- Circumvallate- found on the back of the
tongue.
The taste buds are located on the papillae.

5. 3 TYPES OF PAPILLAE

7. STRUCTURE OF TASTE BUDS

8. FUNCTIONS OF TASTE BUDS
Chemical molecules in food, dissolve in the
saliva.
The molecules bind to the receptor proteins in
the microvilli of the taste buds.
This stimulates the taste cells to send an
impulse through the sensory nerve fibers.
Impulse move to the parietal lobe of
cerebrum.
Taste is interpreted

9. 5 PRIMARY TASTE PERCEPTIONS
Sweet
Sour
Bitter
Salty
Umami (Japanese
savory taste)
- Certain regions of the
tongue are more sensitive
to particular tastes.

10. 3. SENSE ORGAN: SKIN
Mechanoreceptors sense physical
deformation caused by stimuli such as
pressure, stretch, motion, and sound
The sense of touch in mammals relies
on mechanoreceptors
Thermoreceptors, which respond to
heat or cold, help regulate body
temperature by signalling both surface
and body core temperature.

11. Pain receptors, or nociceptors, respond to
excess heat, pressure, or chemicals released
from damaged or inflamed tissues.
The sensory cutaneous mechanoreceptors
in the skin are:
 Ruffini's end organ (sustained pressure and
heat – all over body)
 Meissner's corpuscle (changes in texture, slow
vibrations – light touch – lips, finger tips)
 Pacinian corpuscle (deep pressure, fast
vibrations – visceral organs)
 Merkel's disc (sustained touch and pressure)
 Free nerve endings (pain – all over body)
 End bulbs of Krause – cold – all over body

12. The sensory cutaneous
mechanoreceptors in the skin are:

13. STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN SKIN

14. SENSE ORGAN: EYES
SENSE OF VISION
Photoreceptors are sensory receptors
that are sensitive to light.
Animals and humans with 2 eyes facing
forward have 3D or stereoscopic vision,
visual fields overlap and each eye is able
to view and object from a different angle.

15. THE HUMAN EYE
Main parts of the eye found in 3
main layers
1. Outer layer (Cornea, Sclera)
2. Middle layer (Choroid, ciliary body,
iris)
3. Inner layer (Retina – rods, cones,
fovea)

16. THE HUMAN EYE
 Other parts of importance:
1. Lens (Attach to suspensory ligaments)
2. Humors (Aqueous humor and vitreous
humor – Transmit light rays and support
eyeball)
3. Optic nerves – Transmits impulses to the
brain

17. OUTER LAYER (STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION)
 The sclera: white outer layer, protects
and supports eyeball
 Cornea: Front transparent part of eye.
Refracts light rays
 Conjunctiva: Transparent membrane
(front). Moistens eye surface.

18. MIDDLE LAYER STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
 Pupil: Hole in middle of eye. Black. Admits
light into eye.
 The choroid: Pigmented 2nd layer. Absorb
stray light. Contain blood vessels for
nutrition and oxygen.
 The iris: Coloured part of the eye that
regulates the size of the pupil and therefore
light entrance
 The lens: Transparent biconvex structure
that refract and focuses light on the retina

19. INNER LAYER, STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION
 The retina: contains photoreceptors (cones
and rods)
- Rods: Make black and white vision
possible/ overview sight
- Cones: Make colour vision possible
- Fovea centralis: Best image possible
- Blind spot: place where nerves and blood
vessels enter and leave the eyeball. No
image can be seen if light is focused on this
point.

20. The eye is divided into two cavities
separated by the lens and ciliary
body:
The anterior cavity is filled with
watery aqueous humor.
The posterior cavity is filled with
jellylike vitreous humor.
The ciliary body produces the
aqueous humor.

21. Fig. 50-18
Optic
nerve
Fovea (center
of visual field)
Lens
Vitreous humor
Optic disk
(blind spot)
Central artery and
vein of the retina
Iris
Retina
ChoroidSclera
Ciliary body
Suspensory
ligament
Cornea
Pupil
Aqueous
humor

22. PHOTORECEPTORS
Found in the retina of the eye.
2 Types: Rods and Cones
They consist of an outer segment and an inner
segment joined by a stalk.
Visual pigment found in rods, is a deep-purple
pigment called Rhodopsin.
Rods are sensitive to light and are therefore
suited for night vision (black and white) and
peripheral vision.
Rods found on either side of fovea- the further
away from the fovea – the more rods present.

23. The cones, are primary located in the fovea
centralis, the further away from the fovea the
less the cones.
Activated by bright light
Cones allow us to detect fine detail and
colour.
Cones contain 3 pigments –B (blue), G
(green) and R (red)
In colour blindness, a person lack certain of
these pigments.

25. INTEGRATION OF VISUAL SIGNALS IN
THE RETINA
Light enter the eye through the cornea,
aqueous humor, pupil, lens, vitreous humor
and focuses on the retina.
Light stimulates the photoreceptors (rods and
cones) in the retina.
Retina sends an impulse to the optic nerves
Optic nerves send an impulse to the occipital
lobe of the cerebrum
Where sight is integrated.

26. ACCOMMODATION
The ability of the lens to change shape to
enable the eye to focus on near and far
objects.= accommodation

27. NEAR VISION
Cilliary muscle
contracts
Suspensory
ligaments relax
Lens becomes more
concex (rounded)
DISTANCE VISION
Cilliary muscle relax
Suspensory ligaments
pull tight
Lens becomes flat (less
convex)
Fig. 50-19
Ciliary muscles
relax.
Retina
Choroid
(b) Distance vision(a) Near vision (accommodation)
Suspensory
ligaments pull
against lens.
Lens becomes
flatter.
Lens becomes
thicker and
rounder.
Ciliary muscles
contract.
Suspensory
ligaments relax.

28. VISUAL DISORDERS
Nearsightedness/
Myopia
 Can see objects closer than
6m, but not far objects.
 Have an elongated eyeball.
 When looking at a far object,
the image is focused in front
of the retina.
 These people can wear
concave lenses, which
diverge the light rays so that
the image can be focused
on the retina.
Farsightedness/
Hypermetropic
 Can see objects far but not
near objects.
 Have a shortened eyeball.
 When looking at a near
object, the image is focused
behind the retina.
 These people can wear a
convex lens, to increase the
bending of light rays so that
the image can be focused on
the retina.

29. MYOPIA OF THE EYE

30. HYPERMETROPIA

31. VISUAL DISORDER: ASTIGMATISM
When the cornea or
lens is uneven and
the image that you see
is fuzzy.
Can be corrected by
wearing glasses with
an unevenly round
lens to compensate for
the uneven cornea.