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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 ...
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 ...
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 odor detection threshold is the lowest concentration of a certain odor compound that is perceivable by the human sense of smell.The threshold of a chemical compound is determined in part by its shape, polarity, partial charges, and molecular mass.
Smell, or olfaction, is a chemoreception that forms the sense of smell. Olfaction has many purposes, such as the detection of hazards, pheromones, and food. It integrates with other senses to form the sense of flavor. [8] Olfaction occurs when odorants bind to specific sites on olfactory receptors located in the nasal cavity. [9]
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.
Organoleptic tests are sometimes conducted to determine if food or pharmaceutical products can transfer tastes or odors to the materials and components they are packaged in. Shelf-life studies often use taste, sight, and smell (in addition to food chemistry and toxicology tests) to determine whether a food product is safe to consume.