There are five senses: touch, vision, hearing, smell and taste. While touch is a complex general sense, the other four are special senses. The general sensory receptors are simple receptors that are mostly modified dendritic ends of sensory neurons. Such receptors are present throughout the body : in the kin, mucous membranes, connective tissues and muscles. These monitor most of the types of general sensory information such as tactile sensation (a mix of touch, pressure, stretch and vibration), heat, cold, pain and muscle sense (perception).
In contrast, special sensory receptors are distinct receptor cells that are actually confined to the head region and are highly localized within complex sensory organs like eyes and ears and tissues of the taste buds and olfactory epithelium .These sensory organs and tissues are collection of cells of many different types (receptor and non- receptor cells), working together to accomplish a specific receptive process.