MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY

PHYSIOLOGY

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
The part of the body containing all our smell receptors is the:
A
olfactory epithelium
B
mucus
C
olfactory tract
D
amygdala
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Structure of the olfactory system. Air containing odorants is inhaled into nasal mucosa, which resides under the frontal lobe of the cerebrum. The nasal mucosa contains the main olfactory epithelium (OE), which is covered by mucus.

Detailed explanation-2: -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-3: -This area (only a few centimeters wide) contains more than 100 million olfactory receptor cells. These specialized epithelial cells give rise to the olfactory vesicles containing kinocilia, which serve as sites of stimulus transduction. Olfaction is less developed in humans than in other mammals, such as rodents.

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