The Five Senses

#senses #health #ngscience
Learn all about your five senses and the sense organs used for each sense.

People have five senses that take in information about the world around them. The information is collected by your sense organs and sent along nerves to the brain where it is interpreted and processed. The brain uses the processed information to instruct the body how to respond. The five senses are sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.

Eyes are the sense organs for the sense of sight. Light passes into the eyes and travels as electrical signals in nerves to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as images.

Ears are the sense organs for the sense of hearing. Sound waves enter the ears causing parts in the ear to vibrate. The vibrations travel as electrical signals along nerves to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as sounds of different volumes and pitch.

Skin is the sense organ for the sense of touch. When skin comes in contact with an object, signals travel along nerves to the brain. The brain interprets the information and responds.

The nose is the sense organ for the sense of smell. Receptors in the nose detect odors and send the information along nerves to the brain. The brain interprets the information as smells.

The tongue and mouth are the sense organs for the sense of taste. Special cells on the tongue, called taste buds, respond to different types of taste. Information about taste travels along nerves to the brain where they are interpreted as sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami tastes.

The brain is the control center of the body. It constantly receives, processes and interprets information from the sense organs and controls the body’s response. The brain controls movement and the regulation of body systems.