Abstract
Experiences following stimulation of the senses have been recorded for millennia, and they could be related to the gross anatomy of the sense organs. Examination of their microanatomy was to await the development of achromatic microscopes in the early nineteenth century. Among the microscopic structures that were isolated and described were specialized sensory cells, called receptors, and they could be related to the stimuli that excited them. Those located in well-defined sense organs (like the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue) were named on the basis of their morphology, whereas the receptors in or beneath the surface of the skin were generally named after those who first described them. Illustrations of early representations of sensory receptors are combined with "perceptual portraits" of the microanatomists who described them.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 285-306 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Journal of the History of the Neurosciences |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 11 Mar 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 Mar 2019 |
Keywords
- Senses
- histologists
- microanatomy
- microscopes
- perceptual portraits
- receptors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Clinical Neurology
- History and Philosophy of Science