L5: Touch and pain Flashcards
What is Somatosensation?
Body sensations and their receptors.
What is Thermoregulation?
The regulation of body temperature.
What is Discriminate touch?
specialised touch receptors that can locate specifically where the sensation is coming from.
What is Kinesthesis?
The sensation of movement in muscles, tendons and joints. Allows for coordinated movement.
What is proprioception?
Awareness of our body in space.
What is the vestibular system?
Made up of receptors in the inner ear that respond to body position and tilting of the head. Aids in balance, used alongside other senses to perceive what is happening.
What are the 2 organs of the vestibular system and their basics?
1) Semi-circular canals: 3 canals filled with Endolymph and hair cells
2) Otolith organ: sensitive to acceleration and deceleration, tells brain our position in 3D space
What are hapsis?
Touch receptors that detect fine touch/pressure.
What is a Corpuscle?
A minute cell.
What are the 4 main Corpuscles associated with touch and what are their perception ranges?
1) Pacinian corpuscle: Vibration, large vague borders
2) Meissners corpuscle: Light touch, small sharp borders
3) Merkels’ discs: Fine touch, small sharp borders
4) Ruffinis’ endings: Stretch, large vague borders
What are free nerve endings?
The un-encapsulated dendrite of a sensory neuron.
What is Endolymph?
Fluid located in the semi-circular canals, movement causes this fluid to move against the hairs.
What are the 3 main layers of the skin called in order?
1) Epidermis (top layer)
2) Dermis (middle layer)
3) subcutaneous tissue (inner layer)
What does the epidermis do?
The top skin layer produces pigment and protects the immune system.
What does the dermis do?
The middle skin layer contains our nerve endings, oil, sweat glands and hair follicles.
