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The Primary Interface Between the Body and the External Environment

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Essay

The primary interface between the body and the external environment is the skin. Thus, a variety of receptors exist within the skin for the detection of our external environment. List the three classes of receptors found in the skin (with an example of each with its function), and the pathways that those stimuli must follow to reach the somatosensory cortex.


Definitions:

Pyramidal Neuron

A type of excitatory neuron found in certain areas of the brain, such as the cerebral cortex, with a distinctive pyramid-shaped cell body.

Sensory Neuron

A type of neuron that converts external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal electrical impulses.

Efferent Neuron

Neurons that carry neural impulses away from the central nervous system towards effectors such as muscles or glands.

Interneuron

A type of neuron that connects sensory and motor neurons within the central nervous system, facilitating complex reflexes.

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