Sensory system and skin

Nail

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

Hair structure

Hair (pili) covers the entire skin to varying degrees (except for the palms, soles, transitional part of the labia, head of the penis, inner surface of the foreskin, labia minora).

Skin: structure, vessels and nerves

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

Flavor

In humans, there are about 2000 taste buds (caliculi gustatorii), located mainly in the mucous membrane of the tongue, as well as the palate, pharynx, and epiglottis.

Smell

In the life of land animals, the sense of smell plays an important role in communication with the external environment. It serves to recognize odors, to determine gaseous odorous 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 tympanic cavity by its labyrinthine wall. The inner ear consists of a bony labyrinth and a membranous labyrinth inserted into it.

Auditory (eustachian) tube

The auditory (Eustachian) tube (tuba auditiva, s. auditoria) is on average 35 mm long and 2 mm wide. Through it, air from the pharynx enters the tympanic cavity to maintain the pressure in the cavity equal to the external pressure, which is important for the normal functioning of the sound-conducting apparatus (eardrum and auditory ossicles).

middle ear

The middle ear (auris media) includes the tympanic cavity (about 1 cm3) lined with mucous membrane and filled with air, and the auditory (Eustachian) tube. The middle ear cavity communicates with the mammillary antrum and through it with the mammillary cells located in the thickness of the mammillary process.

The organ of hearing and balance.

The vestibulocochlear organ (organum vestibulocochleare) in the process of evolution in animals arose as a complexly structured organ of balance (vestibule), perceiving the position of the body (head) during its movement in space, and an organ of hearing. The organ of balance in the form of a primitively structured formation (static bubble) appears even 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)

Health