Unit 2 Flashcards
Outer Ear
Pinna
Part of external ear between pinna and tympanum
ear canal
thin membranous tissue between external and middle ear
tympanic membrane
AKA eardrum
a long air-filled cavity that connects the middle ear to the nasopharynx
what is its function?
Eustachian tube
AKA internal auditory canal
- equilibrates pressure in the middle ear during chewing, swallowing and yawning
3 parts of middle ear
- tympanic membrane
- bony ossicles
- Eustachian tube
what are the 3 bony ossicles in order from external to internal?
- Malleus
- Incus
- Stapes (touches oval window)
What are the three parts of the internal ear and their sense functions?
- Cochlea (hearing)
- Vestibule (vertical and horizontal acceleration and tilting)
- Semicircular Canals (rotation of head in various planes)
Where do the bony ossicles meet the internal ear and how do they function there?
- the stapes meets the cochlea at the oval window
- the ossicles transmit vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window
What are the three chambers of the cochlea (top to bottom)?
What separates them?
What do they contain?
scala vestibula - perilymph
Reissner’s membrane - btwn vestibula and media
scala media - endolymph (K+ rich), organ of Corti
basilar membrane - btwn media and tympani, below hair cells
scala tympani - perilymph
What is the structure within the scala media that converts vibrations transmitted through the endolymph into graded potentials?
And how does it do this?
Organ of Corti
- Stereocilia on the hair cells bend as they are pushed up against the tectorial membrane
- This bending either opens or closes mechanically gated channels which allow K+ from endolymph in, causing depolarization or hyperpolarization.
- A slow, constant flow of neurotransmitter from the hair cell is either increased or decreased depending on which way the hairs are bent, sending correlating auditory signals to the brain.
What percentage of K+ channels are open by default in hair cells of the organ of Corti?
10%
What is the membrane that sits above the hair cells in the organ of corti and what is it made of?
Tectorial Membrane
- an acellular gel made of collagen and glycoproteins
What are the cells in the organ of corti that create nerve signals from auditory vibrations?
How are they special?
Hair Cells
- modified neurons
- no mitosis
- no axon
- release neurotransmitter
How are different frequencies of sound differentiated by the cochlea?
- by being picked up at different parts along the spiraled length of the cochlea depending on the thickness of the basilar membrane
- high frequencies vibrate the stiffer, thicker region of the membrane near the oval window
- low frequencies vibrate the thinner, more flexible region closer to the helicotrema (end)
what nerve is formed from the axons of nerve cells exiting the cochlea?
Cochlear nerve
What are the two parts of the vestibule and their functions?
What do they contain?
Utricle - sensing horizontal acceleration
Saccule - sensing vertical acceleration
- contain K+ rich endolymph
What is the structure within the two parts of the vestibule that converts axial accelerations of the head into nerve signals?
And its parts?
Macula (of Utricle/Saccule)
- otolithic membrane (w/ crystals)
- hair cells (w/ stereocilia)
- solid membrane
How are the two maculae of the vestibule oriented and how does this contribute to their function?
Saccule is vertically oriented
Utricle is horizontally oriented
- this allows them to pick up accelerations of the head on their respective planes
what are the crystals that sit atop the maculae of the vestibule and contribute to its function by acting as a weight?
**Otoliths **
- made of calcium and proteins
What inner ear organ detects rotational movements of the head?
the semicircular canals
what is the structure within the semicircular canals where rotational movement is translated into action potentials?
Crista Ampullaris
What is the gelatinous mass in the crista ampullaris?
cupula
How does rotational movement affect the crista ampullaris and create an action potential?
1) as head turns, bony and membranous labyrinth walls move
2) inertia causes endolymph within to create drag, bending cupula against direction of rotation
3) Hair cell cilia embedded in the cupula are bent, opening K+ channels and causing depolarization. When bent back the opposite way, hyperpolarization occurs, also sending signals.
What are the three tunics of the eye?
1) Fibrous
2) Vascular
3) Sensory
What are the two parts of the fibrous tunic?
- Sclera (whites of the eyes)
- Cornea (transparent front projection, covers iris, pupil and anterior chamber)
What are the 3 parts of the vascular tunic?
1) Choroid (vascular layer btwn retina and sclera)
2) Ciliary Body (ciliary muscle and processes)
3) Iris (colored part, controls pupil size)
What is the main part of the sensory tunic and its 3 types of cells?
Retina
1) Photorecptor cells (rods and cones)
2) Bipolar cells (trasmit photoreceptor APs to ganglion cells)
3) Ganglion cells (transmit APs to optic nerve and brain)
What are the different functions of the two different photoreceptor cells?
Rods - black and white, low light, and peripheral vision
Cones - sharp, color, high light vision
What are the visual pigments in both rods and cones?
In each one separately?
In both:
Retinal - binds to opsin, is straightened by light, causing it to fall off opsin (bleaching rods)
Opsin - transmembrane hourglass shape, binds retinal
In rods only:
Rhodopsin -** **
In cones only:
Blue, Green and Red Pigments -
Describe the process of shutting down rods in favor of cones in the presence of light.
1) in dark conditions, rods are slightly depolarized (-40 mV)
2) light photons hit retinal bound to opsin on visual disc membranes
3) retinal’s bent shape straightens, and it falls off of opsin (called “bleaching the rods”)
4) “bleached” opsin activates transducin proteins nearby on membrane
5) transducin activates phosphodiesterase, breaking down cGMP which had been holding open chemically-gated Na+ channels on the rod cell membrane
6) Na+ flows in, hyperpolarizing rod to -70 mV
What is the name of the process of reaction to light in the eye?
transduction
What is the name of the clear gel that fills the eye between the lens and the retina?
vitreous humor
What is the small, oval, yellow-pigmented spot near the center of the retina?
What kinds of cells does it contain mostly?
What is the name of its center, which contains the highest concentration of these cells?
Macula Lutea - mostly cones
Fovea Centralis - highest concentration of cones, virtually no rods
In order, what structures, fluids and cells does light pass through before it hits photoreceptor cells?
1) cornea
2) aqueous humor
3) pupil/iris (then technically more aqueous humor)
4) lens
5) vitreous humor
6) ganglion cells
7) bipolar cells
… and finally photoreceptors
What are the two names for where neurotransmitters meet dendrites at synapses?
Ligands
Chemically-gated receptor proteins on dendrites
Opened by neurotranmitters, allowing Na+ in
What is it called when a cell’s resting charge increases due to influx of positive ions?
Depolarization
What is the entry of Na+ into a dendrite considered?
Why?
an excitatory event
because it depolarizes the cell, pushing it toward the creation of an action potential
What are the 3 methods of neurotransmitter removal at a synapse?
1) enzymatic breakdown
2) re-uptake into axon (endocytosis)
3) diffusion
What is a graded potential?
A variable strength signal that travels short distances and loses strength as it travels.
What are graded potentials used for?
What can they create?
What kinds are there?
Where and how do they start?
- short distance communication
- can lead to creation of action potentials
- can be excitatory (Na+ or Ca2+ inflow) or inhibitory (K+ outflow or Cl- entry)
- start at dendrites or cell bodies via localized changes in membrane permeability at chemically gated channels allowing in or outflow of ions
What is the major anion and cation in the intracellular fluid?
K+ and Phosphate
What is the major anion and cation in the extracellular fluid?
Na+ and Cl-
What causes the difference in net charge between intra- and extracellular fluid?
- intracellular fluid is electrically negative because it contains protein anions without matching cations
- extracellular fluid is electrically positive because it contains some cations without matching anions
What is an electrical gradient?
a difference in net charge between two regions
What is an electrochemical gradient?
A combination of electrical and concentration gradients
What is the resting membrane potential difference?
AKA membrane potential
- an electrical gradient between extra- and intracellular fluid
- “resting” because it’s in all living cells
- “potential” because it’s a form of stored energy
- “difference” because it represents a difference in charge
What is the term for the membrane potential that exactly opposes the concentration gradient of an ion?
equilibrium potential
What is the resting membrane potential voltage of a typical cell?
-70 mV
How do cells maintain their resting membrane potential?
via active transport using Na+-K+-ATPase pumps
2 K+ in for every 3 Na+ out
What is the term for a decrease in potential difference between two regions?
depolarization
What is the term for a return to resting membrane potential?
repolarization
What is the term for an increase in potential difference between two regions?
hyperpolarization
What ions cause most changes in membrane potential?
And how?
Na+, Ca2+, K+ and Cl-
- permeability changes in a membrane relative to any of these ions allows them to move down their electrochemical gradient, changing charges inside and outside the cell
What happens if a cell becomes more permeable to calcium ions?
It tends to depolarize because Ca2+ concentration outside the cell is higher, so increased permeability means an influx of Ca2+.
What happens if a cell becomes more permeable to potassium ions?
It tends to hyperpolarize because K+ concentration is higher inside the cell, so increased permeability increases outflow of K+ and decreases net charge.