The Sense Organs 10/13/2016. The Human Eye. 1. Sclera 2. Choroid 3. Retina. The eye is made up of three layers:

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1 The human body gathers information from the outside world by using the five senses of: The Sense Organs 12.3 Sight Hearing Taste Smell Touch This information is essential in helping the body maintain homeostasis. The Human Eye Humans receive a lot of information through their eyes. Our eyes are very important and therefore are protected by a number of things : 1. Eyelashes 2. Eyelids 3. Eyebrows 4. Ridges of bone in the skull The eye is made up of three layers: 1. Sclera 2. Choroid 3. Retina The sclera is the thick, white, outer layer which gives the eye its shape. It bulges at the front of the eye to form the cornea. The cornea is covered by a thin, transparent membrane called the conjunctiva. The middle layer of the eye is the choroid. It absorbs light and prevents internal reflection. At the front of the eye the choroid layer forms the iris. The iris opens and closes to control the size of the pupil. The choroid also forms a structure called the ciliary body. This muscular structure controls the shape of the lens. 1

2 The inner layer of the eye is the retina. The retina contains two structures called photoreceptors. These are the rods and cones and they capture light. Rods are unable to distinguish colors, therefore they work well in dim light. Cones are able to detect colors such as red, green, and blue and work well in situations where there is more light. There are two chambers in the eye. In front of the lens the anterior compartment is filled with a fluid called the aqueous humour. Behind the lens is the posterior chamber which is filled with a fluid called the vitreous humour. Aqueous humour helps to focus an image and vitreous humour helps to give the eyeball its shape. How The Eye Functions Light entering the eye first passes through the cornea. Next, the light passes through the pupil. The pupil will dilate or open if there is not enough light entering the eye. On the other hand, the pupil will constrict or close if there is too much light. The light passes through the lens. The shape of the lens can change depending on your distance from an object. When you look at something far away the lens flattens and when you look at something close the lens becomes more rounded. This adjustment of the lens is called accommodation. After it passes through the lens, the light is focused on the retina. The retina has three layers: 1. The ganglion cell layer 2. The bipolar cell layer 3. The rod and cone cell layer The bipolar cells synapse or join with the rods and cones to transmit impulses to the ganglion cells. The ganglion cells join together to form the optic nerve. The optic nerve carries the impulse to the brain to be interpreted. The retina contains approximately 150 million rod cells and 6 billion cone cells. Both rods and cones use a purple pigment called rhodopsin to perform their job. The cones are concentrated in an area of the retina called the fovea centralis. Rods are located all over the retina. 2

3 Disorders of the Visual System Normal Vision There are a number of disorders which affect the human eye. These include: Myopia (Near-sightedness) Hyperopia (Far-sightedness) Astigmatism Cataracts Glaucoma Myopia or near-sightedness is a condition in which a person has trouble seeing objects which are far away. It is caused by the eyeball being too long or the ciliary muscles being too strong and causing the lens to become distorted. Hyperopia or far-sightedness is a condition in which a person has difficulty in seeing objects which are close. It is caused by the eyeball being too short or the ciliary muscles being too weak and therefore unable to focus the lens properly. Thus, images of nearby objects cannot be focused on the retina. An astigmatism is an abnormality in the shape of the cornea or lens which results in an uneven focus. The image is focused in front of the retina and cannot be seen correctly. Corrective lenses are used to focus the image onto the retina so that it can be seen correctly. Laser Surgery Laser surgery can be performed to correct disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. There are two main types of laser surgery: 1. Photorefractive keratectomy ( PRK ) surgery 2. Laser in-situ keratomileusis ( LASIK ) surgery 3

4 PRK is performed with anaesthetic eye drops. A laser beam reshapes the cornea by cutting microscopic amounts of tissue from the outer surface of the cornea. The procedure takes only a few minutes and recovery is quick. LASIK is performed for people who are nearsighted. First a knife is used to cut a flap of corneal tissue, then a laser is used to remove the tissue underneath the flap and then the flap is replaced. Corneal Transplant If the cornea is seriously impaired by disease, a corneal transplant can be performed. A diseased cornea is removed and replaced by a healthy donor cornea. Recovery is long and vision improves over 6 to 12 months. Cataracts Glaucoma Cataracts are cloudy or opaque areas on the lens which increase over time and can eventually cause blindness. They are common in older people and can result from too much exposure to sunlight. They can be treated surgically by replacing the damaged lens with an artificial lens. Glaucoma is caused by too much aqueous humour building up between the lens and the cornea. Normally, excess aqueous humour is drained from this area, however, if the drainage ducts become blocked the extra fluid causes pressure which destroys the nerve fibers that control peripheral vision. The damage cannot be repaired, but can be curbed by drug treatment or surgery. The Human Ear The human ear contains mechanoreceptors. These structures are able translate the movement of air into nerve impulses which are interpreted by the brain. The ear has three 1. The outer ear 2. The middle ear 3. The inner ear sections: 4

5 The outer ear is made up of two parts: 1. the pinna 2. the auditory canal The pinna catches the sound and sends it down the auditory canal which contains tiny hairs and sweat glands. The auditory canal carries the sound to the tympanic membrane (or eardrum). The middle ear begins at the tympanic membrane. It ends at two small openings called: round window oval window There are three small bones between the eardrum and the oval window, these are: the malleus (hammer) incus (anvil) stapes (stirrup) Connected to the middle ear is a tube called the Eustachian tube (auditory tube). This tube is used to equalize air pressure within the ear. These three bones are collectively called the ossicles. The inner ear is made up of three sections: 1. Cochlea 2. Vestibule 3. Semicircular canals The cochlea plays a role in hearing. The vestibule and semicircular canals are involved in balance and equilibrium. 5

6 How do we hear? The process of hearing begins when sound waves are caught by the pinna and enter the auditory canal. At the end of the auditory canal, the sound waves cause the tympanic membrane (eardrum) to vibrate. Vibration of the eardrum causes the three ossicles (ear bones) to vibrate. The malleus strikes the incus and the incus causes the stapes to move. The movement of the stapes causes the oval window to vibrate. This vibration passes to the cochlea and passes through the cochlear fluid. The cochlea contains three canals: vestibular canal cochlear canal tympanic canal The lower wall of the cochlea is made up of a basilar membrane. This membrane has many tiny hair cells. These hair cells combine to form a spiral organ called the organ of Corti. These hairs join with the cochlear nerve which connects with the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve sends the impulse to the brain to be interpreted. Disorders of the Auditory System Conduction Deafness A disorder of the auditory system will result in some form of deafness. There are two main types of deafness: 1. Conduction deafness 2. Nerve deafness Conduction deafness is caused by damage to the outer or middle ear. Conductive hearing loss results in a loss of loudness, people who have this type of deafness are not totally deaf, sounds are not loud enough to be heard well. Conduction deafness can be overcome by amplifying the sound (hearing aids) and can sometimes be remedied by medical or surgical techniques. 6

7 Hearing Aids There are three main types of hearing aids: 1. Conventional 2. Programmable 3. Digital A conventional hearing aid has a microphone to receive the sound, an amplifier to increase the volume of the sound, and a receiver which transmits the sound to the inner ear. A programmable hearing aid has an analog circuit which is programmed by a health care professional. It also has automatic volume control. A digital hearing aid processes sound digitally. The digital hearing aid can change the pitch and frequency of a sound wave to meet an individual s needs. Nerve Deafness Cochlear Implants Nerve deafness is caused by damage to the hair cells in the spiral organ (cochlea ). It is an uneven deafness in which you can hear some frequencies better than others. It is irreversible. Some forms of sensorineural hearing loss can be treated with corticosteroids or cochlear implants. While hearing aids can be helpful for most people with hearing loss, there are some for whom hearing aids either do not help or help insufficiently. In such cases, cochlear implants can be helpful and are being used by more people with severe and profound hearing loss who no longer benefit from hearing aids. Cochlear implants are medical devices that bypass damaged structures in the inner ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. They are surgically implanted to improve hearing. They can create a range of sound, but do not replace normal hearing.. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants convert sound waves to electrical impulses and transmit them to the inner ear, providing people with the ability to hear sounds and potentially better understand speech without reading lips. 7

8 Ear Infections (middle ear) Other Disorders of the Auditory System Middle ear infections are a fluid build-up behind the eardrum. This is caused by an improperly angled Eustachian tube which prevents proper fluid drainage. It can be corrected by tympanostomy (or tube surgery), a procedure in which plastic tubes are placed in a slit in the eardrum. The tube allows for the fluid to drain and this relieves pressure on the eardrum. As the eardrum heals, the tube is usually pushed out of the ear. This takes about 6 months to 2 years. 8