Senses

Introduction
Light senses
Mechanical senses
Chemical sense
Electric sense

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Diagram showing unpolarized light as intersecting waves approaching a circular polarizing filter. After passing through the filter, only light waves aligned with the filter's orientation emerge as polarized light, with reduced intensity.

Diagram of the human ear showing how sound waves travel through the outer ear and auditory canal to the tympanic membrane, causing vibrations in the ossicles, and then through the middle and inner ear, including the cochlea. Color-coded sections highlight the outer ear in orange, middle ear in pink, and inner ear in blue.

Diagram showing how the maculae in the inner ear respond to gravity for balance. One panel illustrates upright hair cells when the head is upright, and another shows tilted hair cells when the head bends forward, helping maintain static equilibrium.

Diagram of the human vestibular system showing the membranous labyrinth with labeled structures for balance: the cristae in the semicircular ducts and the maculae in the utricle and saccule. Insets detail the crista with hair cells and cupula, and the macula with hair cells, otolithic membrane, and supporting structures.

Do Different Parts of the Tongue Taste Different Flavors?

Related Questions

About how many working olfactory receptor genes do humans have?
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External Websites

Live Science - The five (and more) human senses
Learn.Genetics - Sensory Systems: The Neuroscience of Our Senses
University of West Florida Pressbooks - Sensory Systems
UH Pressbooks - Anatomy and Physiology - Sensory Perception
National Center for Biotechnology Information - Physiology, Sensory System
Raritan Valley Community College Pressbooks - Human Biology - Senses

Compound eye Vespid wasps (Vespidae), similar to other insects, have compound eyes that consist of thousands of tiny optical units known as ommatidia, which contain light-sensitive photoreceptor cells.

Senses

biology

Also known as: sense perception, sensory reception, sensory system(Show More)

Written by

Michael Land

Emeritus professor of neurobiology, Sussex Vision Laboratory, Sussex Centre for Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, England.

Michael Land

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 6, 2026 •History

Senses, means by which animals detect and respond to stimuli in their internal and external environments. The senses of animals are most usefully described in terms of the kind of physical energy, or modality, involved. There are four main modalities: the light senses (photoreception; i.e., vision), the mechanical senses (mechanoreception; i.e., touch, balance, and hearing), the chemical senses (chemoreception; i.e., taste and smell), and the electric sense (electroreception) of certain fish. In addition to these...

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