Examples of nerve endings skin#
During touch, mechanoreceptors in the skin and other tissues respond to variations in pressure. During smell, olfactory receptors recognize molecular features of wafting odors. During taste, sensory neurons in our taste buds detect chemical qualities of our foods including sweetness, bitterness, sourness, saltiness, and umami (savory taste). During hearing, mechanoreceptors in hair cells of the inner ear detect vibrations conducted from the eardrum. During vision, rod and cone photoreceptors respond to light intensity and color. Free nerve endings originate from fine myelinated or unmyelinated fibers that branch extensively in the dermis and may penetrate into the epidermis. The axon/Schwann cell complex is further surrounded by a basement membrane. Sensory receptors perform countless functions in our bodies. Free Nerve Endings: Made up of branching nerve axons, which are entirely or partially surrounded by Schwann cells. For example, hygroreceptors that respond to changes in humidity and osmoreceptors that respond to the osmolarity of fluids may do so via a mechanosensory mechanism or may detect a chemical characteristic of the environment. In some cases, the mechanism of action for a receptor is not clear. Broadly, sensory receptors respond to one of four primary stimuli:Ī schematic of the classes of sensory receptors: Sensory receptor cells differ in terms of morphology, location, and stimulus.Īll sensory receptors rely on one of these four capacities to detect changes in the environment, but may be tuned to detect specific characteristics of each to perform a specific sensory function. Sensory receptors can be classified by the type of stimulus that generates a response in the receptor.
baroreceptor: A nerve ending that is sensitive to changes in blood pressure.mechanoreceptor: Any receptor that provides an organism with information about mechanical changes in its environment such as movement, tension, and pressure.photoreceptor: A specialized neuron able to detect and react to light.
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