The olfactory system is concerned with the detection of airborne or waterborne (in aquatic animals) chemicals that may be present in very low concentrations. Olfactory receptor cells are present in very large numbers (millions), forming an olfactory epithelium within the nasal cavity. Each receptor cell has a single external process that extends to the surface of the epithelium and gives rise to a number of long, slender extensions called cilia. The cilia are covered by the mucus of the nasal cavity. Unlike taste receptor cells, olfactory receptor cells have axons that connect directly to the brain. Olfactory receptor cells are continually replaced, with new cells developing from basal cells in the olfactory epithelium. In humans the receptor cells are replaced about every 60 days.

The relative size of the olfactory epithelium reflects the importance of olfaction in the lives of different animals. In some dogs the olfactory epithelium has an area of about 170 cm², with a total of about 1 billion olfactory receptor cells; in oxen the olfactory epithelial area is only about 1–4 cm², and the number of cells is less than 30 million. By comparison the human olfactory epithelium covers about 5–10 cm² and has about 10–40 million olfactory receptor cells.

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Another major difference between the olfactory system and the taste system is that the axons of olfactory receptor cells extend directly into a highly organized olfactory bulb, where olfactory information is processed. Within the olfactory bulb are discrete spheres of nerve tissue called glomeruli. They are formed from the branching ends of axons of receptor cells and from the outer (dendritic) branches of interneurons, known in vertebrates as mitral cells, that pass information to other parts of the brain. Tufted cells, which are similar to but smaller than mitral cells, and periglomerular cells, another type of interneuron cell, also contribute to the formation of glomeruli. The axons of all the receptor cells that exhibit a response to a specific chemical or a range of chemicals with similar structures converge on a single glomerulus, where they connect via synapses with the interneurons. In this way, information from large numbers of receptor cells with similar properties is brought together. Thus, even if only a few receptors are stimulated because of very low concentrations of the stimulating chemical, the effects of signals from these cells are maximized. In mice there are about 1,800 glomeruli on each side of the brain, in rabbits there are about 2,000, and in dogs there are as many as 5,000. Since there are millions of olfactory receptor cells, the degree of convergence of axons, and therefore of information about a particular odor, is enormous. For example, in a rabbit, axons from about 25,000 receptor cells converge on each glomerulus.

The olfactory system enables an animal to perceive chemicals originating outside itself that are important in the animal’s behavior and ecology. These signals do not fall into such relatively clear categories as the taste receptor system, and most organisms have the ability to distinguish between hundreds or even thousands of odors, including some odors that have very similar chemical structures. An example of the human ability to discriminate between odors is the difference in smell between caraway seed and spearmint. Yet the chemicals producing these odors, the s- and r-forms of carvone, are stereoisomers (having the same three-dimensional chemical structure, but one being a mirror image of the other). This ability to distinguish between different compounds depends on the possession of olfactory receptor cells with specific, limited ranges of sensitivity. Many of the compounds that stimulate the olfactory system of terrestrial animals are not water soluble.

In terrestrial vertebrates the olfactory epithelium is in the nasal cavity. Because air passes through this cavity to the lungs, the epithelium is continually bathed with a fresh supply of air as the animal breathes. The airflow can be enhanced so that the volume of air sampled is increased by sniffing, a technique commonly used by cats, dogs, and many other animals. When bird dogs are searching for a scent on the ground, they may sniff very rapidly, perhaps creating turbulence of the air in the nasal cavity and enhancing the likelihood that odor molecules will reach the olfactory epithelium. When these dogs run into the wind with their heads held high, attempting to pick up the scent of prey, a continuous flow of inhalant air is maintained through the nostrils and thus over the olfactory epithelium.

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