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The olfactory system, is the sensory system used for the sense of smell (olfaction). Olfaction is one of the special senses directly associated with specific organs. Most mammals and reptiles have a main olfactory system and an accessory olfactory system. The main olfactory system detects airborne substances, while the accessory system senses ...
The olfactory epithelium is a specialized epithelial tissue inside the nasal cavity that is involved in smell.In humans, it measures 5 cm 2 (0.78 sq in) [1] and lies on the roof of the nasal cavity about 7 cm (2.8 in) above and behind the nostrils. [2]
The Lady and the Unicorn, a Flemish tapestry depicting the sense of smell, 1484–1500. Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris.. Early scientific study of the sense of smell includes the extensive doctoral dissertation of Eleanor Gamble, published in 1898, which compared olfactory to other stimulus modalities, and implied that smell had a lower intensity discrimination.
Olfactory receptors (ORs), also known as odorant receptors, are chemoreceptors expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory receptor neurons and are responsible for the detection of odorants (for example, compounds that have an odor) which give rise to the sense of smell.
The olfactory bulb transmits smell information from the nose to the brain, and is thus necessary for a proper sense of smell. As a neural circuit, the glomerular layer receives direct input from afferent nerves, made up of the axons from approximately ten million olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory mucosa, a region of the nasal cavity.
Olfactory mucosa lines about 5cm 2 of the posterosuperior parts of the lateral nasal wall. Parts of the nasal cavity lined by olfactory mucosa include: parts of the roof of the nasal cavity, the superior nasal concha and some upper parts of the middle nasal concha, parts of the nasal septum, and the sphenoethmoidal recess.
Painted turtles use this organ to use their sense of smell underwater. [28] Sagittal section of the vomeronasal organ of garter snake. Garter snakes – In addition to the main olfactory system, garter snakes have the vomeronasal organ. The vomeronasal organ plays an important role with its sensitivity toward chemicals that are related to ...
"Smell", from Allegory of the Senses by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Museo del Prado. An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive via their olfactory system.