8 - Sensory

VIII.
SENSORY AND MOTOR MECHANISMS GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

4TH QUARTER
1. Sensory receptors
 Mechanoreceptors respond to physical stimuli such as sound or touch
 Thermoreceptors respond to temperature
 Chemoreceptors detect chemicals
 Photoreceptors respond to light
 Pain receptors detect possible tissue damage
2. Three types of eyes in animals

 Eye cups in flatworms and other invertebrates
 Compound eyes in insects and arthropods
 Single lens eyes in squid
3. Parts of the human eye and how “seeing” occurs

 The sclera is the outermost layer of the eyeball. It forms the white of the eye and in front, there is a transparent
cornea. The conjunctiva lines the eyelids and the front of the eyeball. It helps keep the eyes moist. The sclera
surrounds the choroid. The iris giving the eye its color, is formed from the choroid. Vision starts when light
passes through the pupil and into a transparent lens that focuses images on the retina. The retina contains
photoreceptor cells which transduce light energy into action potentials. These nerve impulses travel along the
optic nerve to the corresponding visual areas of the brain. An image is then formed.
 The photoreceptor cells are rods and cones. Rod cells use the pigment called rhodopsin. They are used for
night vision and can detect only shades of gray and not color. Cone cells distinguish various colors and they
are sensitive to bright light.
4. Parts of the human ear and how “hearing” is achieved

 The outer ear lobes catch sound waves and channel them to the eardrums. From the eardrum, the middle
ear amplifies the sound wave vibrations to three small bones – the hammer, anvil and stirrup. The sound
waves travel to the oval window. The Eustachian tube equalizes air pressure in the middle ear and outer ear.
The hearing organ is in the inner ear, composed of several channels of fluid wrapped in a spiral cochlea. This
is encased in the bones of the skull. Vibrations in the oval window produce pressure waves. These waves
travel through the upper canal to the tip of the cochlea, enter the lower canal and fade away. Pressure
waves of the upper canal push down to the middle canal and the membrane below this canal vibrates.
These vibrations stimulate hair cells attached to the membrane by moving them against the overlying tissue.
The hair cells are able to develop receptor potentials causing release of neurotransmitters that induce action
potentials in the auditory neurons.
5. The senses of smell and taste

 The senses of odor and taste are interrelated. Chemoreceptors in the nose detect molecules, differentiated
into numerous types of odor. In the upper portion of the nasal cavity, there are olfactory chemoreceptors.
Odor molecules enter the nose and bind to specific receptor molecules on the chemoreceptor cilia. This
event triggers receptor potentials.
 In the tongue, chemoreceptors in taste buds detect salty, bitter, sweet and sour tastes. Taste perception is
due to similar signal mechanisms as mentioned above for smell. What one “tastes” is actually “smell” or odor.
The common cold (due to a virus) can disrupt our sense of smell, thus, we lose taste for the food.
Motor Systems
1. Animal Locomotion
 Animals have to move to find food and sexual partners. To avoid predators and adjust to varying
environmental conditions, animals exhibit different ways of moving.
 Several means of animal locomotion: walking, running, swimming, flying, crawling, hopping, gliding.
2. Skeletal Systems
 Three types of skeleton:
 Hydrostatic skeleton which a volume of fluid is held under pressure. This is common in aquatic and
burrowing animals. An example is the Hydra and other invertebrates with a semi-enclosed body cavity
made of a few layers of cells. There is no solid “bone” but the animal under aquatic pressure can stay
upright and move. Earthworms have smooth muscles and fluid-filled body compartments.
 Rigid, armor-like coverings characterize an exoskeleton. Muscles are attached inside. Joints are thin and
flexible. The best examples are found in arthropods (insects, crustaceans). When insects grow, they shed
off their old “armor” and grow a new one. Cite other examples such as those in clams and snails
 An endoskeleton consists of rigid but flexible support made of bones, cartilage surrounded by masses of
muscles. In sponges, cells are supported on spicules. The endoskeleton of echinoderms is made from
calcium plates underneath the skin.
3. Human Skeletal System

 The skeletal system consists of bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments.
Functions of the Skeletal System

 Cartilage provides a model for bone formation and growth, provides a smooth cushion between adjacent
bones, and provides firm, flexible support.
 Tendons attach muscles to bones, and ligaments attach bones to bones.
 The skeletal system provides the major support for the body.
 Bone protects internal organs.
 Joints allow movement between bones.
 Bones store and release minerals as needed by the body.
 Bone marrow gives rise to blood cells and platelets.
Connective Tissue
 Connective tissue consists of matrix and the cells that produce matrix.
 Varying amounts of collagen, proteoglycan, and mineral in the matrix determine the characteristics of the
connective tissue.
General Features of Bone

 Long bones consist of diaphysis (shaft), epiphysis (ends), and epiphyseal (growth) plates. The diaphysis
contains a medullary cavity, which is filled with marrow, and the end of the epiphysis is covered by articular
cartilage.
Compact Bone
 Compact bone tissue consists of osteons.
 Osteons consist of osteocytes organized into lamellae surrounding central canals.
Cancellous Bone
 Cancellous bone tissue consists of trabeculae without central canals.
Bone Ossification
 Bone ossification is either intramembranous or endochondral.
 Intramembranous ossification occurs within connective tissue membranes.
 Endochondral ossification occurs within cartilage.
Bone Growth
 Bone growth occurs by apposition. Bone elongation occurs at the epiphyseal plate as chondrocytes
proliferate, hypertrophy, die, and are replaced by bone.
Bone Remodeling
 Bone remodeling consists of removal of existing bone by osteoclasts and deposition of new bone by
osteoblasts.
Bone Repair
 During bonne repair, cells move into the damaged area and form a callus, which is replaced by bone.
Bone and Calcium Homeostasis

 Osteoclasts remove calcium from bone, causing blood calcium levels to increase.
 Osteoblasts deposit calcium into the bone, causing blood calcium levels to decrease.
 Parathyroid hormone increases bone breakdown, whereas calcitonin decreases bone breakdown.
 Axial skeleton includes the skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage.
 Appendicular skeleton - bones of the appendages (arms, legs, fins) and bones linking the appendages to the
axial skeleton – the pectoral and pelvic girdles.
Articulations
 An articulation is a place where bones come together.
 Fibrous joints consist of bones united by fibrous connective tissue. They allow a little or no movement.
 Cartilaginous joints consist of bones united by cartilage, and they exhibit sight movement.
 Synovial joints consist of articular cartilage over the uniting bones, a joint cavity lined by a synovial
membrane and containing synovial fluid, and a joint capsule. They are highly movable joints. Synovial joints
can be classified as plane, saddle, hinge, pivot, ball-and-socket, or ellipsoid.
Types of Movement
 The major types of movement include flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, pronation/supination,
eversion/inversion, rotation, protraction/retraction, elevation/depression, excursion, opposition/reposition,
and circumduction.
4. Muscular System
Functions of the Muscular System
 The muscular system functions to produce body movement, maintain posture, cause respiration, produce
body heat, produce movement involved in communication, constrict organs and vessels, and pump blood.
Characteristics of Skeletal Muscle

 Skeletal muscle has contractility, excitability, extensibility, and elasticity.
Structure
 Muscle fibers are organized into fasciculi, and fasciculi are organized into muscles by associated connective
tissue.
 Each skeletal muscle fiber is a single cell containing numerous myofibrils.
 Myofibrils are composed of actin and myosin myofilaments.
 Sarcomeres are joined end to end to form myofibrils.
Muscle Contraction
 Action potentials are carried along T tubules to the sarcoplasmic reticulum, where they cause the release of
calcium ions.
 Calcium ions, released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, bind to the actin myofilaments, exposing
attachment sites.
 Myosin forms cross-bridges with the exposed actin attachment sites.
 The myosin molecules bend, causing the actin molecules to slide past; this is the sliding filament model. The H
and I bands shorten, the A bands do not.
 This process requires ATP breakdown.
 A muscle twitch is the contraction of a muscle fiber in response to a stimulus; it consists of a lag phase,
contraction phase, and relaxation phase.
 Tetanus occurs when stimuli occur so rapidly that a muscle does not relax between twitches.
 Small contraction forces are generated when small numbers of motor units are recruited, and greater
contraction forces are generated when large numbers of motor units are recruited.
 Energy is produced by anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen) respiration.
 After intense exercise, the rate of aerobic metabolism remains elevated to repay the oxygen debt.
 Muscle fatigue occurs as ATP is depleted during muscle contraction. Physiological contracture occurs in
extreme fatigue when a muscle can neither contract nor relax.
 Muscles relax either isometrically (tension increases, but muscle length stays the same) or isotonically (tension
remains the same, but muscle length decreases).
 Muscle tone consist of a small percentage of muscle fibers contracting tetanically and is responsible for
posture.
 Muscles contain a combination of slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers.
 Slow-twitch fibers are better suited for aerobic metabolism, and fast-twitch fibers are adapted for anaerobic
metabolism.
 Sprinters have more fast-twitch fibers, whereas distance runners have more slow-twitch fibers.

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VIII.

SENSORY AND MOTOR MECHANISMS GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

2. Three types of eyes in animals

3. Parts of the human eye and how “seeing” occurs

4. Parts of the human ear and how “hearing” is achieved

5. The senses of smell and taste

3. Human Skeletal System

Functions of the Skeletal System

General Features of Bone

Bone and Calcium Homeostasis

Characteristics of Skeletal Muscle

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