Olfactory sensory neurons are located in a specialized portion of the nasal mucosa, the yellowish pigmented olfactory epithelium. In dogs and other animals in which the sense of smell is highly developed (macrosmatic animals), the area covered by this membrane is large; in microsmatic animals, such as humans, it is small. In humans, it covers an area of 10 cm2 in the roof of the nasal cavity near the septum (Figure 1). The olfactory epithelium is said to be the place in the body where the nervous system is closest to the external world.
Fig1. Structure of the olfactory epithelium. There are three cell types: olfactory sensory neurons, supporting (sustentacular) cells, and basal stem cells at the base of the epithelium. Each olfactory sensory neuron has a dendrite that projects to the epithelial surface. Numerous cilia protrude into the mucus layer lining the nasal lumen. Odorants bind to specific odorant receptors on the cilia and initiate a cascade of events leading to generation of action potentials in the sensory axon. Each olfactory sensory neuron has a single axon that projects to the olfactory bulb, a small ovoid structure that rests on the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone. (Reproduced with permission from Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM [editors]: Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2000.)
The human olfactory epithelium contains about 50 million bipolar olfactory sensory neurons interspersed with glia like supporting (sustentacular) cells and basal stem cells. New olfactory sensory neurons are generated by basal stem cells as needed to replace those damaged by exposure to the environment. The olfactory epithelium is covered by a thin layer of mucus secreted by the supporting cells and Bowman glands, which lie beneath the epithelium.
Each olfactory sensory neuron has a short, thick dendrite that projects into the nasal cavity where it terminates in a knob containing 6–12 cilia (Figure 1). In humans, the cilia are unmyelinated processes, about 5–10 μm long and 0.1–2 μm in diameter that protrude into the mucus overlying the epithelium. Odorant molecules (chemicals) dissolve in the mucus and bind to odorant receptors on the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons. The mucus provides the appropriate molecular and ionic environment for odor detection.
The axons of the olfactory sensory neurons (first cranial nerve) pass through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone and enter the olfactory bulbs (Figure 1). In the olfactory bulbs, the axons of the olfactory sensory neurons con tact the primary dendrites of the mitral cells and tufted cells (Figure 2) to form anatomically discrete synaptic units called olfactory glomeruli. The olfactory bulbs also contain periglomerular cells, which are inhibitory neurons connecting one glomerulus to another, and granule cells, which have no axons and make reciprocal synapses with the lateral dendrites of the mitral and tufted cells (Figure 2). At these synapses, the mitral or tufted cells excite the granule cell by releasing glutamate, and the granule cells in turn inhibit the mitral or tufted cell by releasing GABA.
Fig2. Basic neural circuits in the olfactory bulb. Note that olfactory receptor cells with one type of odorant receptor project to one olfactory glomerulus (OG) and olfactory receptor cells with another type of receptor project to a different OG. Solid black arrows signify inhibition via GABA release, and white arrows signify excitatory connections via glutamate release. CP, cribriform plate; Gr, granule cell; M, mitral cell; PG, periglomerular cell; T, tufted cell. (Adapted with permission from Mori K, et al: The olfactory bulb: coding and processing of odor molecular information, Science 1999 Oct 22; 286(5440):711–715.)
Free endings of many trigeminal pain fibers are found in the olfactory epithelium. They are stimulated by irritating substances, which leads to the characteristic “odor” of such substances as peppermint, menthol, and chlorine. Activation of these endings by nasal irritants also initiates sneezing, lacrimation, respiratory inhibition, and other reflexes.
