The sense organs enable us to be aware of the conditions of our

external as well as internal environment.

Eyes – Light
Ears – Sound
Tongue – Taste
Nose – Smell
Skin – Touch

Receptors - The actual sensation is perceived by the sensory cells

located in these organs - such cells

RECEPTORS
Receptor is any specialized tissue or cell sensitive to a specific
stimulus.

(i) Mechanoreceptors - are receptors for touch, pressure of skin due

to mechanical change.
(ii) Chemoreceptors - receptors of taste of the tongue and smell of
the nose due to chemical influences
(iii) Photoreceptors - are rods and cones of the retina of eye due to
light.
(iv) Thermoreceptors are heat and cold receptors in the skin, due to
change in temperature.
(v) Phonoreceptors - receptors
for sound/hearing.

THE EYES
Orbits: The two eyes are located
in deep sockets or orbits on the
front side of the head.

Eyelids: protect the outer

surface of the eyes and can shut
out light.

Eyebrows: prevent the rain drops or the trickling perspiration from

getting into the eyes.

Tear glands(Lacrimal glands): They are located at the upper

sideward portion of the orbit.
Tear ducts:
A nasolacrimal duct conducts the secretion into the nasal cavity.

Functions of Tears:
1. Lubricate the surface of the eye
2. Wash away dust particles
3. Help in killing germs as it contains lysozyme.
4. Communicate emotions

Conjunctiva:
It is a thin membrane covering the entire front part of the eye. It is
continuous with the inner lining of the eyelids. "conjunctivitis : very
common eye disease in which this outermost layer turns red due to
a viral infection.
Structure of the Eyeball:
(1) outer sclerotic-White, fibrous-Cornea- Front colored part of eye

(2) middle choroid-blood supply provide nourishment. Iris partially

cover lens and leave a circular opening called pupil, which controls
the amount of light.

(3) inner retina- Rods(dim) and Cones (Color)

(1) The sclerotic layer (or sclera) : It bulges out and becomes
transparent in the front region where it covers the coloured part of
the eye; this part is called the cornea.

(2) The choroid layer contains a dark black pigment (melanin)

which prevents light rays from reflecting and scattering inside the
eye. In the front of the eye, the choroid expands to form the ciliary
body (containing circular muscles which changes the shape of the
lens).
The iris is also an extension of the choroid, partially covering the
lens and leaving a circular opening in the centre, the pupil. The
blue, brown or black colour of the eye refers to the colour of the
iris.
The iris contains radial muscles to widen and circular muscles to
constrict the pupil, This adjustment of the size of the pupil
regulates the amount of light entering the eye.

(3) The retina or the innermost layer is sensitive to light. It contains

two types of sense cells called rods and cones.
- The rod cells are sensitive to dim light but do not respond to
colour. They contain the pigment rhodopsin or visual purple.
- The cones are sensitive to bright light and are responsible for
colour vision. They contain the pigment iodopsin or visual violet.
The cone cells are mostly confined to the yellow spot.

YELLOW SPOT - The area of best vision

A particular spot called the macula
lutea or yellow spot lies at the back of
the eye. This spot contains the
maximum number of sensory cells and
particularly the cones. It is the region
of brightest vision and also of the
colour vision.
Yellow spot is the place of best
vision of normal eye. This is the
reason why we move our eyes
from word to word as we read a
line through a printed page.
BLIND SPOT - The area of no vision
Lateral to the yellow spot on the nasal side is the blind spot. There
are no sensory cells here and, therefore, this is the point of no
vision.
LENS
The lens is a transparent, flexible, biconvex crystalline transparent
body located just behind the pupil. The lens is collectively held in
position by fibres called the suspensory ligament, which attaches it
to the ciliary body. The ciliary body contains muscles which on
contraction and relaxation, change the shape of the lens for viewing
objects at different distances.

TWO CHAMBERS OF THE EYE AQUEOUS AND VITREOUS

CHAMBERS
The lens divides the inner cavity of the eyeball into two chambers:
(1) Aqueous chamber is the front chamber between the lens and the
cornea. It is filled with a clear watery liquid called aqueous humour.
The aqueous humour serves in two ways:
(i) Keeps the lens moist
and protects it from
physical shock,
(ii) It refracts light.

(2) Vitreous chamber is

the larger cavity of the
eyeball behind the lens.
It is filled with a
transparent jelly-like
thicker fluid called
vitreous humour
• The vitreous humour
serves two functions:
(i) It helps in keeping
the shape of the
eyeball,
(ii) It protects the retina and
its nerve endings.

COMMON DEFECTS OF THE

EYE
1) Near or short-sightedness
(Myopia) is a condition in
which the near objects can be seen clearly while the distant objects
appear blurred.
Reasons for myopia:
(i) the eye ball is lengthened from front to back
(ii) (ii) the lens is too curved (even both reasons may occur
together).
Correction of myopia: Suitable concave (diverging) lens. Power of
glasses used is mentioned in minus "-".

2. Far or long-sightedness
(Hyperopia, old term
Hypermetropia) is a condition
in which there is a difficulty in
seeing near objects. In it, the
image of near object falls
behind the retina.
Reasons for hyperopia: This
defect results on account of
either shortening of the eyeball
from front to back or the lens is
too flat.
Correction of hyperopia: A
convex (converging) lens is
required to correct it (power of
the glasses used is mentioned in plus "+").

3. Astigmatism is a defect in which some parts of

the object are seen in focus while others are
blurred. It arises due to the uneven curvature of
the corneal This is corrected by cylindrical
lenses.
4. Presbyopia is a condition affecting older people who cannot see
near objects clearly. Their lens loses flexibility resulting in a kind of
far sightedness. This again is corrected by a convex lens.
5. Cataract is a condition in which the lens turns opaque and the
vision is cut down even to total blindness. It can be corrected by
surgically removing the lens, and by using spectacles with highly
convex lenses, compensating for the missing lens, or in a newer
technique, a small plastic lens is implanted behind or in front of the
iris.
6. Night-blindness is a condition in which a person feels difficulty in
seeing in dim light as during the night. This is due to non-formation
of the pigment visual purple of the rods. Only rods function in dim
light and in the absence of the pigment, they cannot function. This
is usually due to the deficiency of vitamin A which is required for
the synthesis of the pigment.
7. Colour blindness is a condition in which some people by birth
cannot discriminate between certain colours such as red and green.
This is due to a genetic defect. Mostly males suffer from this defect,
whereas it rarely occurs in females.
8. Corneal opacities: The cornea of some patients gets scarred and
turns opaque (white) and non-functional. Such defects can cause
anything from minor irritation to vision problems and even
blindness. In such cases, the defective cornea can be replaced by a
healthy cornea from a donated eye.
9. Squint: In this defect, the two eyes somewhat converge leading
to what is called "cross eye". An opposite condition appears when
they diverge and is called the "wide eye." Both conditions may
cause double vision or diplopia. (Surgery and suitable exercise can
correct these defects.

THE EAR - ORGAN FOR HEARING AND BALANCE

The human ear is concerned with two functions, hearing and body
balance.
It has three main divisions: (i) outer ear, (ii) middle ear and (iii) inner
ear.
(i) The outer ear consists of the projecting part pinna and the
passage auditory canal leading to the ear drum.
(ii) The middle ear contains three tiny bones malleus, incus and
stapes or hammer, anvil and stirrup in popular terms and a
eustachian tube which
connects the cavity of the
middle ear with the throat.
The three bones are
collectively called the ear
ossicles. The flat part of the
stirrup fits on the so-called
oval window, a membrane-
covered opening leading to
the inner ear, A second
opening, the round window,
also covered by a thin
membrane, connects the
middle and the inner ear.
(iii) The inner ear has three
parts - the cochlea, semi-
circular canals and the
vestibule .
The cochlea is spiral-shaped and looks like a snail shell. It has three
parallel canals separated by membranes. The median (cochlear)
canal (2) is filled with a fluid called endolymph and the other two (1
and 3) with perilymph. The middle canal contains areas possessing
sensory cells, spiral organ called organ of Corti for hearing. The
nerve fibres arising from these cells join the auditory nerve. The
sensory cells lie on the basilar membrane.
One end of semicircular canal is widened to form an ampulla which
contains sensory cells for dynamic balance while the body is in
motion
Utriculus and a sacculus, collectively termed as vestibule contain
sensory cells for static balance when the body is stationary as in
standing.

FUNCTIONS OF THE EAR

The internal ear is involved in two sensory functions: Hearing and
Body Balance.

A. HEARING
The pinna collects the sound waves and conducts them through the
external auditory canal. They finally strike on the ear drum which is
set into vibration.
• The eustachian tube equalizes the air pressure on either side of
the ear drum allowing it to vibrate freely.
• The vibrating ear drum also sets the three ossicles into vibration.
• The vibration of the last ossicle (stirrup) is amplified due to lever-
like action of the first two ossicles.
• The vibrating stirrup transmits the vibration to the membrane of
the oval window which in turn sets the fluid contained in the
cochlear canals also into vibration.
• The vibrating movements of the fluid stimulate the hair-like
processes of the sensory cells of the cochlea (in spiral organ) and
the impulses are transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve.
B. BALANCING
The sensory cells in the semi-circular canals are concerned with
dynamic equilibrium i.e., while the body is in motion.
Utriculus and sacculus which register the static (positional)
balance with respect to gravity.