ANP 1106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Olfactory Bulb, Olfactory Epithelium, Olfactory Tract

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Anatomy and Physiology
• Course: ANP 1106
• Professor: Brianne Thrush

Document Summary

A receptor sensitive to various chemicals in solution. Smell receptors: excited by airborne chemicals (odourants) dissolved in fluids coating the nasal membrane. Taste receptors: excited by food chemicals dissolved in saliva. Tell us if material near or in our mouths should be savoured or avoided, smell/taste complimentary. Smell organ: olfactory epithelium in roof of nasal cavity. Olfactory receptors detect odourants in inhaled air en route to lungs via trachea. At base of olfactory epithelium lie the olfactory stem cells: needed to regenerate olfactory neurons. One of the few types of neurons that undergo turnover throughout adult lie. We can distinguish between a trillion odours. Smell reach cns via afferents of trigeminal nerve. Works via g protein linked second messenger system. Olfactory adaptation: na+ influx leads to action potential, ca++ influx causes transduction process to adapt decreased response to a sustained stimulus.