Table of Contents
Sense Organs
Types
Eyes
Ears
Tongue
Nose
Skin
Other Sense Organs
Vestibular system
Proprioception system
Sense Organs
Sense Organs Definition
“Sense organs are the organs that respond
to external stimuli by conveying impulses to
the sensory nervous system.”
What are the Sense Organs?
Sense organs are specialized organs that help to
perceive the world around us. They are an integral
part of our lives and it is the only way that enables
us to perceive the environment.
Sense organs provide the required data for
interpretation through various organs and a
network of nerves in response to a particular
physical phenomenon. These senses govern our
association and our interaction with the
environment.
We have five sense organs, namely:
• Eyes
• Ears
• Nose
• Tongue
• Skin
• These five sense organs contain receptors that
relay information through the sensory neurons
to the appropriate places within the
nervous system.
Five Sense Organs
As stated before, we have five sense organs that
can receive and relay sensory information to the
brain. These senses provide an organism with
information crucial for perception. The different
sense organs and the senses they provide are
mentioned below:
1 Eyes – Sight
• These are the visual sensory organs in our body. These are
sensitive to light images. The eyes vary in colour
depending upon the amount of melanin present in our
body. It helps in the sense of sight by detecting and
focussing on the light images.
• The iris in the eye is the coloured part that controls the
size and diameter of the pupil, which directly affects the
amount of light entering the eyes. Behind the lens of the
eye lies the vitreous body. It is filled with a gelatinous
material called the vitreous humour.
There are two types of cells
These are Rod and Cones.
• Rods: These sensors function in low light and
are found at the edges of the retina. They also
aid in peripheral vision.
• Cones: These types of retinal cells work best in
bright light, detecting fine details and colour.
2 Ears – Hearing
Ears are the auditory sense organs of our body. They
help us to perceive sounds. Our auditory system
detects vibrations in the air and this is how we hear
sounds. This is known as hearing or audio caption.
The ears are divided into three sections those
are
the outer ear,
the inner ear,
and the middle ear.
• All sounds are basically vibrations, so the
outer ear transfers these vibrations into the
ear canal, where these vibrations are
transformed by the brain into meaningful
sound. Apart from hearing, this sense is also
important for balancing our body or
equilibrium.
3 Tongue – Taste
• The tongue helps in perceiving various tastes
and flavours. The taste buds are present
between the papillae on the tongue—these
help in sensing different tastes.
• The sense of taste is also known as
[gustaoception.]
there are four different types of taste buds
and each one can detect different types of
tastes like
weetness,
sourness,
bitterness
saltiness.
4 Nose – Smell
• The nose is an olfactory organ. Our olfactory
system helps us to perceive different smells.
This sense of organ also aids our sense of taste.
The sense of smell is also known as olfaction.
• The olfactory cells tend to line the top of the
nasal cavity. On one end, olfactory cells have
cilia that project into the nasal cavity and on
the other end of the cell, are the olfactory
nerve fibres.
As one breathes in, the air enters into the nasal
cavity. The olfactory cells are chemoreceptors,
which means that the olfactory cells have
protein receptors that can detect subtle
differences in chemicals. These chemicals bind
to the cilia, which conducts a nerve impulse
During a cold, the body produces mucus which
blocks the sense of smell; this is the reason
why the food which we eat tastes bland.
5 Skin – Touch
Skin is the largest organ of our body. It is
related to the sense of touch. The sense of
touch is also referred to as tactioception.
The skin contains general receptors which can
detect touch, pain, pressure and temperature.
Other Sense Organs
• Besides these five sense organs, there are another two that
help to orient us with They are:
Vestibular System
• This system is also involved with motor functions and helps in:
Maintain our body posture.
Maintaining our body balance.
Stabilize our head and body during movement.
Identifying the orientation and posture of our bodies in relation
to the environment.
thes vestibular system is essential for normal movement
and equilibrium.
Proprioception system
• Proprioception system is described as the
conscious or unconscious awareness of joint
position
• this system helps the body to identify the
muscles, joints and limbs
