My Messengers and Interpreter - Essay Example

My Messengers and Interpreter Among other body systems, the nervous system is considered to be the master controlling and communicating system of the body (Marieb 222). It controls complicated bodily processes, from temperature regulation, hormone release, thinking and logic to perception and sensation. With its complexity though, the nervous system can be divided into subsystems according to function. One of these is the sensory system. The sensory system is composed of sensory receptors, nerves and some parts of the brain.

Sensory receptors are certain types of cells, either neurons or specialized cells that respond to internal or environmental stimuli (Brooker et al. 952). There are different types of sensory receptors located in almost every inch of the body. In fact, specific receptors generally respond only to specific stimuli. For instance, the eyes are especially sensitive to light, nose for odor, taste buds for flavor, ears for sound and skin for touch, pressure, cold and heat. Some literatures even include the sense of balance and position located on the skeletal muscles and inner structures of the ears, respectively.

Furthermore, nerves are bundles of neurons responsible for the actual transmission of electrical impulses throughout the body. With that, nerves comprise most of the structural network of the nervous system, passing through various organs including the heart, lungs, kidneys, and sense organs, among others. Each neuron has distinct structures like dendrites and axon that function to transmit nerve impulses between neurons. Basically, dendrites conduct impulses toward the cell body, while the axon relays the impulse to the next neuron (Marieb 226).

Likewise, some parts of the brain are also involved in the sensory system. Specifically, the sense of sight is located on its posterior portion, while the sense of smell, taste and hearing are situated on the lateral areas. The sense of coldness, touch and pain is located on the upper parietal portions (Marieb 236).On the other hand, the actual process of sensory perception and interpretation is not an isolated task of each component. The sensory receptors, nerves and the brain interact with each other in the form of electrical impulses.

When a certain stimulus is strong enough, sensory receptors can initiate electrical responses which trigger a series of nerve impulse transmission. Sensory nerves transmit these impulses to the brain for interpretation (Brooker et al. 953). Depending on the nature of the impulse, the brain eventually sends a response to a specific body organ, or simply interprets the impulse to arouse a subjective reaction. For example, when a person hears a song of a favorite band, the auditory receptors initiate an impulse which will then be transmitted by the auditory nerves to the brain.

Then the brain interprets it and the person may react subjectively, either by nodding his head or thumping his feet. Indeed, the riddles of the nervous system can be very tough and challenging. The details of the structure and function of the sensory system are incredibly coordinated. However, it is on these complexities that we are able to perceive and discover the world we live on. References:Brooker, R., E. Widmaier, L. Graham and P. Stiling. Biology. New York: McGraw- Hill Higher Education, 2008. Print.Marieb, Elaine M.

Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology 8th ed. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2006. Print.