sense organ

n. A specialized organ or structure, such as the eye, ear, tongue, nose, or skin, where sensory neurons are concentrated and that functions as a receptor. Also called sensor.

sense organ

n (Zoology) a structure in animals that is specialized for receiving external or internal stimuli and transmitting them in the form of nervous impulses to the brain

sense′ or`gan

n. a specialized bodily structure that receives or is sensitive to internal or external stimuli; receptor. [1850–55]

sense organ

(sĕns) In animals, an organ or part that is sensitive to a stimulus, as of sound, touch, or light. Examples of sense organs include the eye, ear, and nose, as well as the taste buds on the tongue.

Thesaurus

Noun

sense organ - an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulationsensory receptor, receptorlateral line, lateral line organ - sense organs of fish and amphibians; believed to detect pressure changes in the waterorgan - a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular functionenteroceptor, interoceptor - any receptor that responds to stimuli inside the bodyexteroceptor - any receptor that responds to stimuli outside the bodypineal eye, third eye - a sensory structure capable of light reception located on the dorsal side of the diencephalon in various reptilesbaroreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to pressurechemoreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to chemical stimulithermoreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to heat and coldeye, oculus, optic - the organ of sightear - the sense organ for hearing and equilibriumorgan of hearing - the part of the ear that is responsible for sensations of soundinner ear, internal ear, labyrinth - a complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibriumsemicircular canal - one of three tube loops filled with fluid and in planes nearly at right angles with one another; concerned with equilibriumstretch receptor - a receptor in a muscle that responds to stretching of the muscle tissuepapilla - a small nipple-shaped protuberance concerned with taste, touch, or smell; "the papillae of the tongue"sensory system - the body's system of sense organs

Translations

Sinnesorgan

sense organ

a structure in animals that is specialized for receiving external or internal stimuli and transmitting them in the form of nervous impulses to the brain

Sense organ

A structure which is a receptor for external or internal stimulation. A sense organ is often referred to as a receptor organ. External stimuli affect the sensory structures which make up the general cutaneous surface of the body, the exteroceptive area, and the tissues of the body wall or the proprioceptive area. These somatic area receptors are known under the general term of exteroceptors. Internal stimuli which originate in various visceral organs such as the intestinal tract or heart affect the visceral sense organs or interoceptors. A receptor structure is not necessarily an organ; in many unicellular animals it is a specialized structure within the organism. Receptors are named on the basis of the stimulus which affects them, permitting the organism to be sensitive to changes in its environment.

Photoreceptors are structures which are sensitive to light and in some instances are also capable of perceiving form, that is, of forming images. Light-sensitive structures include the stigma of phytomonads, photoreceptor cells of some annelids, pigment cup ocelli and retinal cells in certain asteroids, the eye-spot in many turbellarians, and the ocelli of arthropods. The compound eye of arthropods, mollusks, and chordates is capable of image formation and is also photosensitive. See Photoreception

Phonoreceptors are structures which are capable of detecting vibratory motion or sound waves in the environment. The most common phonoreceptor is the ear, which in the vertebrates has other functions in addition to sound perception. See Ear

Statoreceptors are structures concerned primarily with equilibration, such as the statocysts found throughout the various phyla of invertebrates and the inner ear or membranous labyrinth filled with fluid.

The sense of smell is dependent upon the presence of olfactory neurons, called olfactoreceptors, in the olfactory epithelium of the nasal passages among the vertebrates. See Olfaction

The sense of taste is mediated by the taste buds, or gustatoreceptors. In most vertebrates these taste buds occur in the oral cavity, on the tongue, pharynx, and lining of the mouth; however, among certain species of fish, the body surface is supplied with taste buds as are the barbels of the catfish. See Taste

The surface skin of vertebrates contains numerous varied receptors associated with sensations of touch, pain, heat, and cold. See Chemical senses, Cutaneous sensation, Sensation

Sense Organ

a specialized peripheral system by which an animal or human receives and partially analyzes various external stimuli. Each sense organ consists of receptors and auxiliary structures of varying complexity. The remote sense organs—the organs of sight, hearing, and smell—receive distant stimuli, while the organs of taste and touch receive stimuli only upon direct contact.

sense organ

[′sens ‚ȯr·gən] (physiology) A structure which is a receptor for external or internal stimulation.

sense organ

n. A specialized organ or structure, such as the eye, ear, tongue, nose, or skin, where sensory neurons are concentrated and that functions as a receptor. Also called sensor.

sense organ

A sensory receptor; a structure consisting of specialized sensory nerve endings that are capable of reacting to a stimulus (an external or internal change) by generating nerve impulses that pass through afferent nerves to the central nervous system. These impulses may give rise to sensations or reflexly bring about responses in the body. See also: organ

sense organ

any receptor of external or internal stimuli.

sense organ

A structure especially adapted for the reception of stimuli and the transmission of the relevant information to the brain. The organ of sight is the eye, in which light is transduced into nerve signals in the photoreceptors of the retina.

sense organ

noun

Synonyms for sense organ

noun an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation

Synonyms

sensory receptor
receptor

Related Words

lateral line
lateral line organ
organ
enteroceptor
interoceptor
exteroceptor
pineal eye
third eye
baroreceptor
chemoreceptor
thermoreceptor
eye
oculus
optic
ear
organ of hearing
inner ear
internal ear
labyrinth
semicircular canal
stretch receptor
papilla
sensory system