15. The Special Senses

Stimuli from the inner ear regarding head movement and position are sent to all of the following except the:

a. Vestibular nuclei

b. Oculomotor nucleus

c. Parietal lobe

d. Cerebellum.

e. Trigeminal nucleus

If severe congestion from a cold prevented your pharyngotympanic tube from opening, what could happen to your tympanic membrane? Explain your answer.

The structure that allows pressure in the middle ear to be equalized with atmospheric pressure is the

a. Pinna

b. Pharyngotympanic tube

c. Tympanic membrane

d. Oval window

The macula in the utricle detects:

a. Rotation of the head to the right

b. Very low-frequency sound waves that we can feel but not hear

c. Tilting of the head to one side

d. Linear acceleration of the head in a vertical plane

1. Match the cell type with the correct stimulus. 

_____Rod or cone     

_____Hair cell in cochlea     

_____Gustatory cell     

_____Olfactory neuron     

_____Hair cell in vestibule

a. Head movement

b. Odorant

c. Photon

d. Taste substance

e. Sound wave

Your 60-year-old patient, Mr. Guster, has Bell's palsy, which causes dysfunction of those portions of the facial nerve that control muscles of facial expression. He is surprised when you tell him to tape the eyelids of his right eye closed at night to prevent dryness. Why might Bell's palsy cause dryness of the eye on the affected side?

A progressive disorder characterized by the loss of higher-order cerebral functions is

(a) Parkinson's disease

(b) Parasomnia

(c) Huntington's disease

(d) Alzheimer's disease

Mrs. Garson has an immune disorder that causes dry mouth, and she complains to her doctor that she's lost her sense of taste. How might her symptoms be explained?

Which of the following is not a possible cause of conduction deafness?

a. Impacted cerumen

b. Middle ear infection

c. Cochlear nerve degeneration

d. Otosclerosis

The spiral organ sits on the ________ membrane, and the stereocilia of the outer hair cells contact the _____ membrane.

Where are the olfactory sensory neurons, and why is that site poorly suited for their job?

Mark True or false

Hair cells in the spiral organ will depolarize or hyperpolarize, depending on the direction in which the stereocilia are bent.

Which of the following is not part of the auditory pathway in the CNS?

a. Superior temporal lobe

b. Superior colliculus

c. Medial geniculate nucleus

d. Nuclei in the pons

e. Cochlear nuclei