EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -In terrestrial vertebrates, including humans, the receptors are located on olfactory receptor cells, which are present in very large numbers (millions) and are clustered within a small area in the back of the nasal cavity, forming an olfactory epithelium.

Detailed explanation-2: -Your olfactory mucosa plays a significant role in your ability to smell. This membrane is in the upper part of your nasal cavity and contains different types of cells: Olfactory receptor cells, which support two processes: dendritic process and central process.

Detailed explanation-3: -The olfactory epithelium is a type of pseudostratified columnar epithelium involved in sensing smell. It lines the olfactory cleft of the nasal cavity and forms one of the major components of the olfactory mucosa, with the other being the lamina propria.

Detailed explanation-4: -The olfactory epithelium includes several distinct cell types (Figure 15.5A). The most important of these is the olfactory receptor neuron, a bipolar cell that gives rise to a small-diameter, unmyelinated axon at its basal surface that transmits olfactory information centrally.

Detailed explanation-5: -Olfactory epithelium lines the roof of the nasal cavities, part of the nasal septum, and the superior (and sometimes extending to the middle) turbinate bones.