chemoreceptor

chemoreceptor /che·mo·re·cep·tor/ (-re-sep´ter) a receptor sensitive to stimulation by chemical substances.

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che·mo·re·cep·tor (km-r-sptr)

n.

A sensory nerve cell or sense organ, as of smell or taste, that responds to chemical stimuli.

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chemoreceptor

[-risep′tər]

Etymology: Gk, chemeia + L, recipere, to receive

a sensory nerve cell activated by chemical stimuli. For example, chemoreceptors in the carotid artery are sensitive to the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood; they signal the respiratory center in the brain to increase or decrease the rate of breathing.

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chemoreceptor (kē´mōrēsep´tr),

n a specialized sensory end organ adapted for excitation by chemical substances (e.g., olfactory and gustatory receptors) or specialized sense organs of the carotid body that are sensitive to chemical changes in the bloodstream.

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chemoreceptor

any of the special cells or organs adapted for excitation by chemical substances and located outside the central nervous system. There are chemoreceptors in the large arteries of the thorax and the neck; called carotid and aortic bodies. These receptors are responsive to changes in the oxygen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen ion concentration in the blood. When oxygen concentration falls below normal in the arterial blood, the chemoreceptors send impulses to stimulate the respiratory center so that there will be an increase in alveolar ventilation, and consequently, an increase in the intake of oxygen by the lungs.

Other chemoreceptors are the taste buds, which are sensitive to chemicals in the mouth, and the olfactory cells of the nose, which detect certain chemicals in the air.

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chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ)

located in the floor of the fourth ventricle; sensitive to motion, uremia, apomorphine. Activation stimulates neurons of the emetic center.

chemoreceptor tumors

see chemodectoma.