Nervous/Special Senses Flashcards
define AGEUSIA
absence of gustatory sense (taste)
define ANOSMIA
absence of olfactory sense (smell)
aka: anosmia
anosphrasia
define DYSGEUSIA
taste impaired leading to either an unpleasant taste when previously pleasant or a taste w/o stimulus
define HYPEROSMIA
abnormally heightened sense of smell
define HYPOSMIA
abnormally weak sense of smell
define FISSURE
normal folds in contours of brain
PNS is composed of what
12 pairs of cranial nerves & 31 pairs of peripheral spinal nerves
define NERVE
at least 1 bundle of neurons
define TRACT
bundle/group of nerve fibers in brain/spinal cord
define GANGLION
nerve center made of cluster of nerve cell bodies outside CNS
define INNERVATION
supply of nerves to specific body part
define PLEXUS
network of intersecting spinal nerves
define RECEPTORS
sites in sensory organs getting stimulation
define STIMULUS
anything that excites nerve to cause impulse
define REFLEX
automatic, involuntary response to any change
define AFFERENT NEURONS
sensory
define EFFERENT NEURONS
motor
define CONNECT/ASSOCIATE NEURONS
link afferent & efferent neurons
define DENDRITES
root-like processes that receive impulses & conduct to cell body
define AXON
process that conducts impulse away from cell
define TERMINAL END FIBERS
branching fibers @ end of axon that lead nerve impulse from axon to synapse
describe SYNAPSE
space between 2 neurons/neuron & receptor; 1 neuron can have few/hundreds
describe NEUROTRANSMITTERS
chemical substances that allow for messages to cross synapse to receptors; 200-300 known