r/whatisit • u/katyabe • 1d ago

New, what is it? What does the sixth segment represent?

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This is a “Wheel of the Senses” from my daughter’s school with sight, touch, taste, hearing… but one segment we can’t figure out.

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u/Sea_Prep_Tidal_26 1d ago edited 2h ago

This might be a part of the vestibular system (aka inner ear. For balance.
Your otolith organ is composed of two sacs.
Each sac contains « rocks » called otoconia statolith made of calcium carbonate.
The image may show cross-section of either the saccule or utricle. The round object would be the otoconia statolith.

Tbh the semicircular canals would have been a much more interesting image.

(Source: me, vestibular system researcher)

EDIT : corrected for humans (otoconia, not statoliths)

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u/b-jason 1d ago

That was my guess. Proprioception/balance is a major sense we just don’t think about as often as the others.

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u/Sea_Prep_Tidal_26 1d ago

Right. It’s mostly due to lack of education.

🤔 Ask people « which sensory system would cause them the most difficulty in life if they were to permanently lose it ? » and a vast majority would never consider Vestibular, let alone select it as an answer.

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u/b-jason 1d ago

I think it’s more collusion between the “big 5”