Sensory Receptor Definition

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Sensory Receptor:

Specialized neurons or parts of neurons which transduce sensory information and relay it centrally. Included are receptors for stimuli outside the body (exteroceptors) as well as receptors for stimuli from within the body itself (interoceptors and proprioceptors). Sensory receptors may include accessory structures which condition (e.g., filter) the input received by the receptor neurons themselves.

Synonym: sensory nerve ending, neuroreceptor, neural receptor.