ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -The olfactory nerve is the first of 12 cranial nerves located within the head. It relays sensory data to the brain, and it is responsible for the sense of smell. The nerve’s olfactory receptors are located within the mucosa of the nasal cavity.

Detailed explanation-2: -The olfactory nerves (cranial nerve I) are unique in that their cell bodies lie in the olfactory epithelium (the surface membrane lining the upper parts of the nasal passages), each sending a nerve fibre back to the brain.

Detailed explanation-3: -Your olfactory nerve is the first cranial nerve (CN I). This nerve enables your olfactory system and sense of smell. Cranial nerve 1 is the shortest sensory nerve. It starts in your brain and ends in the upper, inside part of your nose.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are two olfactory bulbs on the bottom side of the brain, one above each nasal cavity. The olfactory bulbs receive information about smells from the nose and send it to the brain by way of the olfactory tracts.

Detailed explanation-5: -Smells are detected by sensory neurons housed in the olfactory epithelium within the nasal cavity (left.). These neurons send information about the presence of smells through processes called axons that cross the cribriform plate at the base of the skull, and enter the olfactory bulb of the brain (middle).