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On Smell

Abstract

THE sense of smell is caused by the contact of certain substances with the terminal organs of the olfactory nerves, which are spread as a network over a mucous membrane lining the upper part of the nasal cavity. Each nerve consists of a number of small bundles, themselves capable of being split into extremely fine nerve fibres. There are spindle-shaped cells connected with these nerves, from which proceed two processes— one to the surface, provided with bundles of long hairlets; the other passes to the interior. It is these hairlets which are pro-probably the proximate cause of smell.

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RAMSAY, W. On Smell . Nature 26, 187–189 (1882). https://doi.org/10.1038/026187a0

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