How Many Sense Organs

Introduction

The term "sense organs" refers to specialized organs made up of sensory cells that respond to external stimuli by sending impulses to the body's sensory system. There are five basic sense organs in the human body, and their names are:

• Eyes

• Nose

• Ear

• Tongue

• Skin

These basic five sense organs are used to perceive light, smell, sound, taste, touch etc. General and special receptors are receptors found in sense organs and can convey signals to sensory nerves. The sense organs used by special receptors include the eyes for vision, tongue for taste, ears for hearing and balance, nose for smell etc. All of the general senses are associated with the sense of touch. Every part of the body (skin) has touch or general receptors.

1. Types of Sense Organs

As previously mentioned, each of our five senses can receive and transmit sensory data to the brain. The ability to perceive information with the help of sense organs is essential for an organism. The five sense organs with their specific functions in detail are mentioned below:

Eyes: The Visual Sensory System (Ophthalmoception)

These are our body's visual sense organs. The eyes can see all light images, which also gather environmental data to send to the brain for processing. The amount of melanin in our bodies affects the colour of our eyes. Identifying and focusing on light images helps in the sense of sight. The coloured portion of the eye, called the iris, regulates the pupil's size and diameter, directly impacting how much light gets into the eyes. The vitreous body of the eye is found behind the lens. It is filled with vitreous humor, a gelatinous substance. In addition to giving the eyeball its shape, this substance also allows light to reach the retina, located at the far back of the eye. Photoreceptors, which can detect light, are found in this retina. Two separate cell types are present, each serving a different purpose. Rod and Cones are these cells.

Rods: Located at the edges of the retina, these sensors work in dim light. They also help with peripheral vision.

Cones: These retinal cell types are superior at recognising small details and colour under bright light. There are three different types of cones for sensing the three primary light colours—blue, red, and green.

Nose: Olfalcoception of The Sensory System for Smell

An olfactory organ is a nose. We can detect various smells due to our olfactory system. Our sense of taste benefits from this sense organ as well. The top of the nasal cavity usually has olfactory cells lining it. Olfactory cells have cilia on one end that extend into the nasal cavity and olfactory nerve fibres on the other end. The olfactory cells are chemoreceptors, meaning they have protein receptors that can distinguish minute chemical variations. These substances attach to the cilia, which transmit a nerve impulse to the brain. These impulses are subsequently converted by the brain into a distinct smell. The food we consume tastes bland when we have a cold because the body creates mucus that limits our sense of smell.

Ears: Audioception or Sensory System for Hearing

Our bodies' auditory sensory organs are the ears. They support our ability to hear. We can hear sounds because our auditory system collects air vibrations. This is referred to as hearing or audio caption. The outer ear, inner ear, and middle ear are the three compartments that make up the ears. Since all sounds are essentially vibrations, the outer ear transmits these vibrations into the ear canal, where the brain converts them into audible sounds. In addition to hearing, this sense is crucial for maintaining our body's homeostasis.

Tongue: Gustaoception or Sensory System for Taste

The tongue assists in the recognition of various tastes and flavours. Between the papillae are taste buds on the tongue that help detect various flavours. Taste and scent have a tendency to coordinate. One could not taste something if one could not smell it. Chemoreceptors in the tongue's taste buds function similarly to those in the nasal cavity. There are four different types of taste buds, and each can detect various tastes, including sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness.

Skin: Tactioception or Sensory System for Touch

The largest organ in our body is the skin. It is associated with the sense of touch. Tactioception is another name for the sense of touch. The skin has general receptors that can sense pressure, temperature, pain, and touch. They can be found all over the skin. When activated, skin receptors produce an impulse that travels first to the spinal cord and then to the brain.

2. Important Points

• Two more sense organs help in our orientation to the outside world in addition to these five. These are the Vestibular and Proprioception systems.

1. Vestibular System

The information regarding body motions, head position, and spatial orientation is communicated to the brain by the vestibular system, which functions as a sensory system of the body.

2. Proprioception System

The ability to be aware of joint position consciously or unconsciously is referred to as proprioception. By using this system, the body can better recognise the muscles, joints, and limbs positioned in 3D space, as well as the direction in which they are moving concerning the body.

• Our ability to perceive and react to our environment depends on our sense organs, specialised organs made up of sensory neurons. There are five sense organs: the skin, nose, ears, eyes, and tongue.

• The term "olfactory organs" refers to the nose, nasal cavities, mucous membrane, and other respiratory route components involved in the sense of smell.

• Tactioception is mainly referred to as the sense of touch.

• Body homeostasis is maintained by the semicircular canals in the inner portion of the human ear.

• Gustaoception is another name for the sense of taste.