Week 7: Discussion

In this lesson, we covered the sense of vision and hearing (and some equilibrium/balance). The other special senses involve gustation (taste) and olfaction (smell). Please comment on the following in your discussion post (and do not list the same responses as another classmate…thus if you are the last to post, you might have to dig a little deeper!)

Research an anatomical structure which involves taste or smell (ex. don’t just say nose, pic a specific structure within the nose!) and tell us what it specifically does. What would happen if your structure wasn’t functional or missing? What could happen if it was overactive? Find a pathology of your chosen special sense (taste of smell) and tell us a little bit about it (2-3 sentences). Read your classmates responses to learn more about the special senses.

Response

Nasal hair is not just an ugly nuisance. It serves an evolutionary purpose of protecting our body from pathogens. But how does it do that?

You have two types of hair in your nose: large, coarse, thick hairs that you normally think of when you hear nose hair, and smaller, microscopic hairs attached to the cells of your skin. Both types of nasal hair perform similar jobs, just with a different mechanism. The large hairs act much like a turnstyle of a stadium to filter and block out large airborne particles, such as dust and pollen. And the microscopic hairs, known as cilia, trap smaller airborne particles and then work together to brush away the trapped particles. Your immune system utilizes these trapped foreign particles to sample for harmful pathogens. Without your nasal hair, you would experience a much more severe reaction to airborne pathogens and allergens, because more antigens would make it through your nose into the rest of your body.

A pathology related to the nose is Empty Nose Syndrome, where the patient feels a nasal obstruction, despite there being none. Empty Nose Syndrome can be a side effect of nasal procedures where damage to the nasal structures, specifically the turbinates, can lead to inflammation and atrophy of the nasal mucosa. Empty Nose Syndrome is detrimental to the patient's quality of life, often leading to hyperventilation syndrome, sleep disorders, and anxiety and depression.