Sensory Systems
35 entries in the Sensory Systems compendium.
Somatosensory systemSensory system for touch, pain, temperature, and body position.TasteThe sensory system for perceiving taste, primarily via tongue taste buds.Visual perceptionThe brain actively interprets sensory data to construct visual experience.Visual systemPhysiological basis of visual perception and light processing.WhiskersSpecialized tactile hairs that help mammals sense their environment.Accommodation (vertebrate eye)Vertebrate eye focus adjustment via lens shape, position, or cornea.Color visionColor vision enables perception of light frequency differences.Compound eyeArthropod visual organ composed of numerous ommatidia.Cone cellPhotoreceptor cells enabling color vision and fine detail.DichromacyDichromacy is color vision with two functioning cone types.OlfactionThe sense of smell detects odors and influences flavor and behavior.Photoreceptor cellSpecialized retinal cells that convert light into biological signals.RetinaInnermost light-sensitive layer of the eye, part of the central nervous system.Rod cellRod cells enable vision in dim light with high sensitivity.Taste budClusters of gustatory cells detecting five basic tastes.TouchThe somatosensory system mediates touch, pain, temperature, and body position.VisionA term spanning perception, arts, media, and technology.EardrumThin membrane that transmits sound to the middle ear.EarwaxEarwax protects, cleans, and lubricates the ear canal.Eye colorEye color is a polygenic trait shaped by melanin and light scattering.Hair cellSensory receptors that convert mechanical movement into neural signals.Iris (anatomy)Ring-shaped eye structure controlling pupil size and color.Lens (vertebrate anatomy)Transparent biconvex structure focusing light in vertebrate eyes.Lateral lineSensory system detecting water movement in fish.PupilThe pupil is the eye's aperture, controlling light entry.Purkinje effectShift of eye's peak sensitivity to blue in dim light.RhodopsinLight-sensitive protein enabling dim-light vision in rod cells.TearsTears are a complex fluid with biological and symbolic roles.TetrachromacyTetrachromacy is the condition of four-channel color vision.TrichromacyThree cone types enable color vision in humans and some animals.UmamiOne of the five basic tastes, identified in 1908.Vestibular systemSensory system for balance and spatial orientation in vertebrates.Visual acuityMeasure of the eye's ability to resolve fine detail.Visual cortexBrain region processing visual information from the eyes.Vitreous bodyClear gel filling the eye between lens and retina.
Browse Sensory Systems in the interactive codex →