1. Physiology A specialized cell or group of nerve endings that responds to sensory stimuli.
2. Biochemistry A molecular structure or site on the surface or interior of a cell that binds with substances such as hormones, antigens, or neurotransmitters or is activated by events such as a change in the concentration of an ion.
1. (Physiology) physiol a sensory nerve ending that changes specific stimuli into nerve impulses
2. any of various devices that receive information, signals, etc
1. a protein molecule, usu. on the surface of a cell, that is capable of binding to a complementary molecule, as a hormone, antibody, or antigen.
2. a sensory nerve ending or sense organ that is sensitive to stimuli.
1. A nerve ending specialized to sense or receive stimuli. Skin receptors respond to stimuli such as touch and pressure and signal the brain by activating portions of the nervous system. Receptors in the nose detect odors.
2. A cell structure or site that is capable of combining with a hormone, antigen, or other chemical substance.
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|Noun||1.||receptor - a cellular structure that is postulated to exist in order to mediate between a chemical agent that acts on nervous tissue and the physiological response|
anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure - a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing; "he has good bone structure"
alpha receptor, alpha-adrenergic receptor, alpha-adrenoceptor - receptors postulated to exist on nerve cell membranes of the sympathetic nervous system in order to explain the specificity of certain agents that affect only some sympathetic activities (such as vasoconstriction and relaxation of intestinal muscles and contraction of smooth muscles)
|2.||receptor - an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation|
lateral line, lateral line organ - sense organs of fish and amphibians; believed to detect pressure changes in the water
organ - a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
exteroceptor - any receptor that responds to stimuli outside the body
pineal eye, third eye - a sensory structure capable of light reception located on the dorsal side of the diencephalon in various reptiles
baroreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to pressure
chemoreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to chemical stimuli
thermoreceptor - a sensory receptor that responds to heat and cold
ear - the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
organ of hearing - the part of the ear that is responsible for sensations of sound
inner ear, internal ear, labyrinth - a complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibrium
semicircular canal - one of three tube loops filled with fluid and in planes nearly at right angles with one another; concerned with equilibrium
stretch receptor - a receptor in a muscle that responds to stretching of the muscle tissue
papilla - a small nipple-shaped protuberance concerned with taste, touch, or smell; "the papillae of the tongue"
sensory system - the body's system of sense organs
effector - an organ (a gland or muscle) that becomes active in response to nerve impulses