What is "sensory receptor"

n. A sensory nerve ending that recognizes a stimulus in the internal or external environment of an organism.

n. an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or viscera or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation [syn: sense organ, receptor] [ant: effector]

In a sensory system, a sensory receptor is a sensory nerve ending that responds to a stimulus in the internal or external environment of an organism. In response to stimuli, the sensory receptor initiates sensory transduction by creating graded potentials or action potentials in the same cell or in an adjacent one.