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Senses Flashcards

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1
Q

What comprises the outer layer of the eye?

A

Cornea and sclera

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2
Q

What is the cornea?

A

Transparent dome front surface
Protection and focus of light

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3
Q

What is the sclera?

A

Fibrous, white surface
Structural support and muscle attachment

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4
Q

What is the uvea?

A

The middle section of the eye comprising of the pupil, iris, ciliary body and choroid

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5
Q

What is the iris?

A

Coloured section surrounding pupil
Muscles control pupil size and how much light enters

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6
Q

What is the pupil?

A

Black centre
Changes shape using muscles in the iris to allow varying amounts of light in

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7
Q

What is the ciliary body?

A

Ring behind the iris
Muscles control the lens to adjust focus

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8
Q

What is the choroid?

A

Vascular layer supplying oxygen and nutrients
Absorbs excess light

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9
Q

What structures comprise the inner eye?

A

Retina, macula and optic nerve

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10
Q

What is the retina?

A

Thin tissue layer that lines the back of the eye
Abundant photoreceptors that convert light to chemical signals (rods and cones)

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11
Q

What are rods and cones?

A

Photoreceptor cells found in the retina
Rods detect in dim light and peripheral vision
Cones detect bright light and colour vision

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12
Q

What is the macula?

A

A small region on the retina with an abundance of cone photoreceptors for central vision and fine detail. The fovea area gives us the sharpest vision

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13
Q

How are electrical signals transmitted from the retina to the brain?

A

Via the optic nerve - optic chiasma - occipital lobe

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14
Q

What is the lens?

A

An auxiliary structure behind the iris that focuses light onto the retina. It’s shape is controlled by the ciliary muscles

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15
Q

What is humorus?

A

Fluid that maintains the shape of the eye and provides nutrients
Aqueous humour is in the front chamber
Vitreous humour is behind the lens

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16
Q

What is the sequence of events which turns light into ‘vision’?

A

Light enters eye via cornea
Light travels through the pupil (controlled by iris)
Light reaches the lens which changes shape (controlled by ciliary body) to focus on the retina
Light hits cones + rods in retina causing phototransduction to create an electrical signal
Optic nerve carries signal via chiasma to the occipital lobe

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17
Q

What is decussation?

A

When visual information crosses over at the optic chiasma
(Lateral vision does not cross over)

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18
Q

What is the purpose of taste?

A

Identify nutritious food
Respond to bodily demand
Recognise harmful food
Create memory to remember the above

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19
Q

Describe the structure of the tongue?

A

Skeletal muscle covered in mucus membrane
Surface covered in papillae which contain taste buds
Taste buds contain gustatory cells

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20
Q

What are the regions of the tongue?

A

Apex, body and root

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21
Q

What are the 5 tastes?

A

Sweet (detect sugar)
Sour (detect acid)
Salty (detect sodium and minerals)
Bitter (detect unpleasant)
Umami (savoury flavour linked to glutamate amino acid)

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22
Q

Describe the structure of the olfaction system?

A

Olfactory mucosa is covered in a mucus layer
Olfactory mucosa contains olfactory receptor cells with cilia that project into the mucus layer
Olfactory nerve carries electrical signals to the olfactory bulb and onto the brain

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23
Q

How does smell occur?

A

Odorous chemicals enter the nose and dissolve into the mucus layer
Olfactory cell cilia detect and are stimulated by these chemicals
An electrical signal is created and sent to the brain

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24
Q

What is anosmia?

A

Loss or altered sense of smell

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25
What is ageusia?
Loss of taste
26
What is hypogeusia?
Reduced taste
27
What type of receptor detects touch?
Mechanoreceptor
28
What are meissners corpuscles?
Mechanoreceptors that detect fine touch, vibration and texture Found in finger tip, lip and palm
29
What are Merkel cells?
Mechanoreceptors that detect light touch and shape Found in finger tip and lip
30
What are pacinian corpuscles?
Mechanoreceptors that detect deep pressure and vibration Found in deeper skin structures
31
What are Ruffini endings?
Mechanoreceptors that detect skin stretch, continuous pressure and body movements Found throughout the skin
32
What are fine nerve endings?
Mechanoreceptors that detect pain and temperature Found throughout the skin
33
Which area of the brain processes touch?
Somatosensory cortex
34
What is a dermatome?
An area of skin supplied by a single spinal nerve
35
What is hyposthesia?
Reduced or lost sense of sensory stimulus caused by peripheral nerve damage
36
What structures comprise the outer ear?
Pinna/auricle Ear canal/external auditory meatus
37
What is the auricle?
The visible external ear Collected sound waves
38
What is the external auditory meatus?
The ear canal Carries and amplifies sound to the middle ear Contains small hairs and glands
39
What structures comprise the middle ear?
Tympanic membrane Ossicles Eustachian tube
40
What is the tympanic membrane?
The ear drum Cone shaped membrane separating the outer and middle ear Vibrates when hit with sounds waves
41
What are ossicles?
The 3 middle ear bones: malleus, incus and stapes Form a chain to amplify and transmit sound to inner ear
42
What is the Eustachian tube?
Narrow tube connecting middle ear to back of throat Equalises middle ear pressure to external environment to ensure accurate sound
43
What is the oval window?
Membrane separates middle and inner ear
44
What structures comprise the inner ear?
Cochlea and organ of corti
45
What is the cochlea?
A spiral, fluid-filled structure that contains the organ of corti that converts sound into electrical signal
46
What is the organ of corti?
In the cochlea Lined with lots of cilia Fluid in the cochlea moves which stimulates the cilia and an electrical signal is created
47
Which nerve carries nerve impulses from the cochlea to the brain?
Auditory nerve
48
What is equilibrioception?
Balance The ability to sense and maintain stability and orientation Constant system of position detection - feedback - adjustment Input from inner ear, eyes, musculoskeletal and brain
49
What is the vestibular system?
Located in inner ear 3 semicircular canals (anterior, posterior and horizontal) Filled with fluid and lined with cilia Detects head movement
50
What are the otolithic organs?
Utricle and saccule Membranous sacs in vestibule that are lined with hair cells to detect linear acceleration, head position relative to gravity and head tilt
51
How do electrical signals get carried from the vestibular system to the brain?
Vestibular nerve
52
What is macular degeneration?
Thinning macular tissue or fluid leak in the retina Progressive loss of central vision
53
What is glaucoma?
Impaired drainage of aqueous humour High ocular pressure damages optic nerve
54
What is a cataract?
Proteins in the lens clump together creating cloudy patches Interference of light occurs
55
What is diabetic retinopathy?
High blood sugars damage small blood vessels in the retina leading to damage
56
What is retinal detachment?
Retina separates from the underlying tissue
57
What optic issues would require transport to ED?
Penetrating injury Sudden loss of vision Cover and keep moist
58
What are the 3 types of hearing loss?
Conductive, sensorineural and mixed
59
What is conductive hearing loss?
Transmission of sound waves is disrupted before reaching inner ear Result is reduced volume or clarity Ear wax, fluid, abnormal anatomy
60
What is sensorineural hearing loss?
Damaged or dysfunctional cochlea or auditory nerve Result is reduced volume AND clarity Age, medication, noise damage
61
What is mixed hearing loss?
Has both conductive and sensorineural factors Genetics, traumas or infection
62
What is industrial deafness?
Prolonged exposure to loud noise causes damage to cilia in inner ear SX: progressive hearing loss, difficulty hearing speech in noisy areas, tinnitus and noise sensitivity
63
What is vertigo?
False sense of spinning/movement with dizziness and reduced balance SX: spinning, dizzy, light head, N+V, unsteady TX: mild to GP; severe to ED (consider prochlorperazine)
64
What is BPPV?
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo Calcium crystals (otoconia) dislodge from inner ear disrupting movement of fluid
65
What is Menieres Disease?
A build up of fluid in the ear creating vertigo, reduced hearing, tinnitus and pressure
66
What is vestibular migraine?
Migraine causing vertigo Triggered by stress, food or hormones
67
What is labyrinthitis?
Infection causing an inflamed labyrinth

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