Nervous System Quiz: Peripheral Nerves and Senses

The part of the nervous system that connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.

Nerves that carry sensory information from the body to the central nervous system (CNS).

Nerves that carry motor commands from the CNS to the body.

The five senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and balance.

Somatosensory pathway responsible for the sense of touch, temperature, pain, and pressure.

The part of the peripheral nervous system that carries information from the body's internal organs to the CNS.

The part of the peripheral nervous system that carries motor commands to the body's skeletal muscles.

Sensory receptors are specialized structures that detect stimuli from the environment, converting them into signals the nervous system can understand.

Transduction is the process of converting a stimulus into an action potential, the language of the nervous system.

Different types of sensory receptors respond best to specific types of stimuli.

Mechanoreceptors are sensory receptors that respond to mechanical stimuli like stretching, pressure, and touch.

Mechanoreceptors can be found in various parts of the body, including muscles, tendons, and skin.

Thermoreceptors are sensory receptors responsible for detecting changes in temperature, both heat and cold.

Nociceptors are sensory receptors that detect pain, alerting the nervous system to potential harmful stimuli.

Photoreceptors are specialized sensory receptors found in the eyes, responsible for detecting light.

Chemoreceptors are sensory receptors that detect chemical changes, such as taste, smell, and changes in blood chemistry.

The type of stimulus that a sensory receptor is most sensitive to, meaning the stimulus that will trigger it most effectively.

Specialized sensory receptors that respond to light waves, allowing us to see.

Sensory receptors in the skin that detect touch, pressure, pain, temperature, tickle, and itch. They are primarily located in the dermis of non-hairy skin.

Rapidly adapting sensory receptors in the skin that are particularly sensitive to textures and fine details.

Slowly adapting sensory receptors in the skin that are crucial for detecting sustained pressure and localizing touch sensations.

A group of Merkel's discs that together act as a single functional unit to encode touch information.

The ability to distinguish between two points of touch, indicating the sensitivity of the skin.

The part of the brain that receives and interprets sensory information from the body, including touch, temperature, and pain.

A type of slow pain pathway that involves neurotransmitters like glutamate and substance P and travels through specific areas of the spinal cord, brainstem, and thalamus.

The phenomenon where pain from internal organs is perceived as originating in a different area of the body, typically on the skin surface.

Tactile discs are sensory receptors found in hairy skin that are similar in function to Merkel's discs. They are slow adapting, meaning they continue to send signals to the brain even when the stimulus is constant.

Hair follicles are surrounded by an array of nerve fibers. These fibers are excited by the displacement of hair, which can be caused by touch, pressure, or wind.

Ruffini's corpuscles are slowly adapting mechanoreceptors found in the dermis of hairy and non-hairy skin and in joint capsules. They are responsible for detecting prolonged touch, pressure, and stretching.

Pacinian corpuscles are encapsulated receptors that are rapidly adapting and detect touch and pressure. They are particularly sensitive to vibrations and sudden changes in pressure, and they help us sense the texture of objects.

Free nerve endings are the most basic type of sensory receptor and are responsible for detecting pain. They are widespread throughout the skin and other tissues, and they are also responsible for detecting temperature.

Rods and cones are photoreceptor cells found in the retina of the eye, specialized to detect light. They are responsible for our sense of vision.

Taste receptors are located on the tongue and other parts of the mouth and are responsible for detecting sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors.

Olfactory receptors are located in the nasal cavity and are responsible for detecting smells. They are sensitive to a wide range of chemicals that create different smells.

Hair cells in the ears are sensitive to sound waves and are responsible for our sense of hearing. They are located within the inner ear in a structure called the cochlea.

The adequate stimulus is the specific form of energy that a sensory receptor is most sensitive to. For example, the adequate stimulus for photoreceptors is light, while the adequate stimulus for mechanoreceptors is mechanical pressure.