Mechanical Senses

Question 1

Vestibular sense

Answer 1

Detects the direction of tilt and the amount of acceleration of the head (balance).
sensory structure: 1. the 3 semicircular canals (fluid filled with hair cells); 2. two otolith organs ( the saccule and utricle)

Question 2

somatosensation

Answer 2

sensation from the body and its movement–includes discriminative touch, deep pressure, cold, warmth, pain, tickle and the position and movement of the joints (kinesthetic)

Question 3

pacinian corpuscle

Answer 3

a microscopic, onionlike body consisting of layers of connective tissue wrapped around a nerve ending, located in the deep layers of skin, tendons, etc., and functioning as a sensory receptor of pressure and vibration.
detects sudden displacements or high-frequency vibration on the skin

Question 4

dermatomes

Answer 4

A dermatome is an area of skin that is supplied by a single spinal nerve . There are 8 pairs cervical nerves, 12 pairs thoracic nerves, 5 pairs lumbar nerves, 5 pairs sacral nerves, and 1 pair coccygeal nerves.. Each of these nerves relays sensation, including pain, from a particular region of the skin to the brain.

Question 5

Pain

Answer 5

an unpleasant sensation evoked by a harmful stimulus.

Question 6

substance P

Answer 6

a neurotransmitter important in the transmission of pain infor

Question 7

Periaqueductal Gray Area

Answer 7

in the midbrain- stimulation causes the release of endogenous opiates (endorphin) & substance P

Question 8

Melzack and Wall’s Gate Theory of Pain

Answer 8

nonpainful stimuli can increase or decrease the intensity of pain