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: 5: The Sense Organs
The human body is equipped with a versatile assortment of sensory outposts, making up considerably more than the traditional 'five senses'. Without a continued flow of information the brain would be cut off not only from the outside world, but also from an awareness of the body's internal environment. Our eyes, ears, nose, mouth and the entire body surface are endowed with a vast variety of receptors for collecting useful information from outside. The inner sepses such as muscle tone enable us to know where the various body parts are, as well as what the current state of the various body system is.
Touch sensations result from stimulation of tactile nerves, and convey information on the size, shape, texture and localization of objects.
Sense of smell functions in attraction of food and warning of danger. Taste nerves (taste buds) respond to chemical substances dissolved in saliva on the surface of the tongue.
A large portion of the stream of incoming impulses consists of messages from the eyes. Human eyes are capable of not only detecting light, but of distinguishing between different colours, shades of colours and degrees of light and darkness. Analysed and integrated, these messages put together a picture of the outside environment.
The ears are two organs in one. They are the organs of hearing--the perception of sound. They also contair receptors for the sense of equilibrium-the perception o. changes in position and movement of the body.
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