Anatomy and Structure of Human

Sense Organs

Introduction:

There are five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. There are organs
connected with these sense that take in information that is sent to the brain so that the
body can act on it.

Sight:

The eye is the organ of the sense of sight. Eyes detect light, and convert it to electro-
chemical impulses in neurons. The eye consists of three layers:

1. The outer layer consists of the sclera and cornea.

2. The middle layer consists of the choroid, ciliary body and iris.
3. The inner layer consists of the retina.

Parts of the Eye:

Sclera and Cornea:
Sclera is white and tough outermost layer of the eye which is connected to cornea.
Cornea is the transparent window at the front of the eye which is covered in a thin layer
of tears. It is the primary focusing element of the eye.

Pupil and Iris:

The pupil is the circular opening in the colored part of the eye (Iris) through which light
passes. The iris dilates or opens and contracts to let in more or less light. Iris is
responsible for one’s eye-colour.

Lens:
It resembles the lens of a camera, focuses the light and moves it towards retina.

Choroid:
The choroid is the vascular layer of the eye, containing connective tissues and lying
between the retina and the sclera. It provides oxygen and nourishment to the outer layer
of the retina.

Retina:
The inner lining at the back of the eye. It contains blood vessels which bring nutrients to
the nerve cells. The part of retina which is most sensitive and is responsible for reading
vision is called macula and contains the fovea.

Rods and Cones:

The photoreceptors of the retina are the rods and cones. There are approximately 6
million cones in the retina. Cones are the cells that recognize colours but for this they
need bright light falling on them. There are three types of cones; red, blue, green.

Rods are much more in number; counting approximately 125 million, spread all over the
peripheral retina, function best under low light and are responsible for night vision.

Optic Nerve:
It take information from the retina as electrical signals and delivers it to the brain where
this information if interpreted as a visual image.

The Vitreous Humor:

It is jelly like substance present behind the lens. Its role is to provide pressure inside the
eye and keep it inflated. So that focused light passes through to the retina.

Mechanism of Vision:

The light first enters the eye through the cornea. It bends the rays and moves towards
pupil and iris. After passing the pupil and iris, the light rays fall on lens. The lens then
send the light to the back of the eye, where is reaches retina. Nerve cells of the retina
transform the light into electrical impulses; these impulses are then sent to optic nerve,
which transits the information to the brain.
 Hearing:
The ear is the organ concerned with hearing. The ear has three parts:

1.The Outer Ear

2.The Middle Ear
3.The Inner Ear

Parts of Ear:

Outer Ear:

Pinna:

The outermost part of the ear made of cartilage that is connected to the outer tube
called the auditory canal. This leads to the eardrum.

Middle Ear

Eardrum, stirrup, anvil and hammer:

This membrane vibrates and along with the three tiny bones in the middle ear, the
hammer, anvil and stirrup, and sends the stimuli to the cochlea.
Inner Ear:

Cochlea:

Is spiral shaped and it transforms sound into nerve impulses that travel to the brain.

Semicircular Canals:

These fluid filled tubes attach to the cochlea and nerves in the inner ear. They send
information on balance and head position to the brain.

Eustachian Tube:

Drains fluid from the middle ear into the throat behind the nose.

How does hearing occur:

The pinna is like a funnel, which directs sound to the ear canal and unto the eardrum.
The ear canal has wax in it that helps trap infections and particles from getting deeper
into the more sensitive parts of the organ.

Sound waves travelling through the ear canal reach the eardrum and bounces off,
setting the eardrum to vibrate too. This sets off more vibrations of the ossicles (the three
small bones called Hammer, Anvil and Stirrup) inside of the middle ear.

The ossicles are connected to the cochlea. The cochlea is a long chamber, shaped like
a garden snail, filled with a liquid. The chamber has a hair-like lining. As the vibrations
travel through the liquid in the chamber, the tiny hairs are stimulated, picking up the
vibration signals from the liquid and send them to a special part of the brain for
interpretation. The entire process happens within millions of a second.
 Taste:
Tongue:

Gustation (another term for taste) is another of our five senses that help us differentiate
the chemicals that make up food. Tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth? The
tongue is covered with moist, pink tissue called mucosa. Tiny bumps called papillae give
the tongue its rough texture. Thousands of taste buds cover the surfaces of the papillae.
Taste buds are collections of nerve-like cells that connect to nerves going into the brain.

Our taste buds are able to detect only five chemical stimuli: sweet, bitter, sour, salty and
umami (salts of certain acids that are associated with savory flavors). This ability of the
tongue to taste these five distinctive chemicals helps us to maintain a balance in our
bodies, as well as prevent us from taking in toxic substances.

The tongue is anchored to the mouth by webs of tough tissue and mucosa. The tether
holding down the front of the tongue is called the frenum. In the back of the mouth, the
tongue is anchored into the hyoid bone.

The tongue is vital in tasting and chewing food and in speech.

How does this work:

When a food item enters the mouth, the tongue receives it. Before it goes down your
throat, it is dissolved in saliva and that slips into all the tiny pores and grooves on the
tongue. Here, special nerve fibers located on the receptor cells are stimulated. They
pick up the impulses in the food and quickly send that signal to the brain for
interpretation.
 Smell:
Nose:

The organ for smelling is the nose along with the mouth, let air in and out of the body. It
also helps us distinguish different smells in that air.

Here is the diagram of the entire system.

At the roof of our nasal cavity, there are very tiny hairs (called olfactory cilia) that get
stimulated after they pick up chemicals in the air going into our lungs. As they pick up
the signal, they send it to the olfactory bulb. The impulse is then sent to the brain for
interpretation. Note that for the brain to assign a particular smell to a signal, it uses its
memory. This means, for the first time you smell something, good or bad, the brain
stores it appropriately.

The sensory receptors in the nose that pick up chemicals are called Chemoreceptors.
These receptors get tired after constantly receiving signals of the same stimuli. This is
why if you stay in a smelly room for a long time, it becomes normal until you go out and
come back in.

It is believed that over 80% of what we perceive as taste is actually due to smell. This
means if food smells great, you are more likely to love the taste of it.
 Touch
Skin:

The skin is the largest organ of the body, with a total area of about 20 square feet unlike
the others; it is not located at any specific place, but the entire body. The skin protects
us from microbes and the elements, helps regulate body temperature, and permits the
sensations of touch, heat, and cold.

Types of sensory receptors:

Receptors that respond to heat and cold are known as Thermo-receptors. Nociceptors
respond to painful stimuli. Mechanoreceptors are those that respond to mechanical
stimuli such as tension, pressure or vibration. Chemoreceptors respond chemical stimuli
such as taste and smell.

The entire network of sensory receptors does not only exist in the skin. It is distributed
all over the inside of the body such as muscle, bones and joints, hearts and blood
vessels. Altogether, it is known as the somatosensory system. A few places without
sensory receptors are our hairs and fingernails. This is why we feel no pain when we cut
or trim them.
Layers: Skin is made up of three layers:

1. The Epidermis
2. Dermis
3. Subcutaneous Tissue

The Epidermis:

The upper layer of our skin, the epidermis, is the tough protective outer layer. It is about
as thick as a sheet of paper over most parts of the body. It provides a waterproof barrier
and creates our skin tone. Epidermis has four layers of cells, which contains three
special type of cells:

Melanocytes: produce melanin, gives skin its colour

Keratinocytes: produce keratin, a type of protein, basic component of hairs and nails.
Langerhans Cells: helps protect the body against infections.

Dermis:

Below epidermis it the next layer of our skin, the dermis, which is made up of blood
vessels, nerve ending and connective tissues. The dermis nourishes the epidermis,
helps the skin to stretch and reposition it when we move.

Subcutaneous Tissues:

It is the bottom layer of our skin. It is made up of connective tissues, sweat glands,
blood vessels and cells that store fat. This layer helps to protect body from blows and
other injuries and helps it hold in body heat.