reflex

• Receptor: a structure that detects changes in the body's internal or external environment
• Sense organ: when receptor cells of a particular type are grouped together, e.g., light receptors in the eye or receptors sensitive to sound vibrations in the ear
• Stimuli: changes in the environment that receptors respond to
• Core temperature: the temperature inside the body
• Reflex: a rapid, automatic response to a change in the external or internal environment
• Properties of reflexes:

  • A stimulus is required to trigger a reflex - the reflex is not spontaneous
  • A reflex is involuntary - it occurs without any conscious thought
  • A reflex response is rapid - only a small number of neurons are involved
  • A reflex response is stereotyped - it occurs in the same way each time it happens
• Spinal reflex: a reflex controlled by the spinal cord
• Reflex arc: the pathway a nerve impulse follows in traveling from a receptor to an effector
• Innate reflex: protective reflexes present from birth and determined genetically
• Acquired reflex: reflex learned through repetition
• receptor cells detect changes in the environment and send messages to the central nervous system (CNS) through afferent nerves.