Sensory system and skin

Nail

The nail (unguis) is a horny plate, which is located in the connective tissue nail bed, from which the nail grows.

Hair

Hair (pili) covers in varying degrees all the skin (except for the palms, soles, the transitional part of the lips, the glans penis, the inner surface of the prepuce, small labia).

Skin (cutis), which forms the general covering of the human body (integumentum commune), directly in contact with the external environment, performs a number of functions. It protects the body from external influences, including mechanical ones, it participates in the thermoregulation of the body and in metabolic processes, it emits sweat, sebum, performs respiratory function, contains energy reserves (subcutaneous fat).

Taste

In humans, taste buds (caliculi gustatorii) in an amount of about 2000 are found mainly in the mucous membrane of the tongue, as well as the palate, throat, epiglottis.

Smell

In the life of terrestrial animals, the sense of smell plays an important role in communicating with the external environment. It serves for the recognition of odors, the determination of gaseous smelling substances contained in the air.

Inner ear

The inner ear (auris interna) is located in the thickness of the pyramid of the temporal bone and is separated from the tympanum by its labyrinthine wall. The inner ear consists of a bone and a webbed labyrinth inserted into it.

Auditory (Eustachian) tube

The auditory (eustachian) tube (tuba auditiva, s. Auditoria) has an average length of 35 mm, a width of 2 mm. Through it, air from the pharynx enters the drum cavity to maintain pressure in the cavity, the same as the external one, which is important for the normal operation of the sound-conducting apparatus (tympanic membrane and auditory ossicles).

Middle ear

The middle ear (auris media) includes a lining mucosa and an air-filled drum cavity (about 1 cm3 in volume) and an auditory (Eustachian) tube. The cavity of the middle ear communicates with the mastoid cave and through it with mastoid cells located in the thickness of the mastoid process.

The organ of hearing and balance

The pre-cochlear organ (organum vestibulocochleare) in the process of evolution in animals arose as a complex organ of equilibrium (pre-door), perceiving the position of the body (head) as it moved through space, and the organ of hearing. The organ of equilibrium in the form of a primitively arranged formation (static bubble) appears also in invertebrates.

Eardrum

The eardrum (membrana tympani) is a thin translucent oval plate measuring 11x9 mm, separating the external auditory canal from the tympanic cavity (middle ear)

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