Sense of smell
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
| Smell | |
|---|---|
Painting of a woman smelling a carnation. Olfaction uses chemoreceptors that create signals processed in the brain that form the sense of smell. | |
| Details | |
| System | Olfactory system |
| Function | sense chemicals in the environment that are used to form the sense of smell |
| Identifiers | |
| MeSH | D012903 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system. Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb, where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion.
There are many different things which can interfere with a normal sense of smell, including damage to the nose or smell receptors, anosmia, upper respiratory infections, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease.