MECHANORECEPTORS
Mechanoreceptors respond to being mechanically pushed and pulled through touch, pressure, gravity, stretch, and movement. As their contour changes, mechanoreceptors supply information to the animal about shape, texture, weight, and the landscape of objects in the external environment. Through the use of mechanoreceptors we can feel, maintain balance, and even hear.

Feeling occurs when mechanoreceptors detect touch, pressure, and pain as objects come in contact with the skin.

Another kind of mechanoreceptor is responsible for proprioception, or balance, which enables an animal to know the position of its body. Proprioceptors are located within muscles, tendons, and joints.

Mechanoreceptors also facilitate hearing. For terrestrial vertebrates, hearing occurs when sound waves in the air become pressure waves in the cochlear fluid, resulting in depolarization of sensory neurons. The cochlear nerve then transmits these impulses to the brain.