Olfactory nerve

/ɒlfˈaktəɹˌi nˈɜːv/

/ɑːlfˈæktɚɹi nˈɜːv/

[noun]

Olfactory nerve

[NOUN]

a sensory nerve responsible for the sense of smell

synonyms : first cranial nerve

nervii olfactorii

What is "olfactory nerve"?

The olfactory nerve, also known as cranial nerve I, is a sensory nerve responsible for the sense of smell. It originates in the olfactory epithelium, located in the nasal cavity, and carries information about odors from the nasal passages to the brain. The olfactory nerve consists of bundles of sensory fibers that transmit signals to the olfactory bulb, which is part of the brain's limbic system. From the olfactory bulb, the information is processed and interpreted, allowing us to perceive and distinguish various smells. The olfactory nerve plays a crucial role in our ability to detect and recognize scents, which can evoke powerful emotions and memories.

Examples

1. If you actually plot acclimation on a graph from your nasal olfactory nerves, it follows that plateau curve exactly.

2. And I don't mean to throw any panic into anyone in the audience, but every once in a while one of these cold sore viruses will go rogue and will start to migrate up the olfactory nerve, the smell nerve.

3. And that would be an entertainment device, but people have lost their sense of smell, and so the receptors aren't there, or the cells that have the receptors aren't there, but there's still an olfactory nerve that pokes out of your brain through your skull.