How much do we know about the sense of smell

Author: Boston Publishing Company, Panyi Xia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The relationship between taste and smell is as close as physical condition and health. Although the taste organs and smell organs are located in different parts of the head, when we consume food, information is transmitted to the same area of the brain through the nervous systems of both organs, and the two sets of signal systems combine to create a sense—taste. Taste organs cannot do this alone. If your nose is blocked, you cannot smell. People who cannot distinguish odors suffer from anosmia, while those who have lost their sense of smell suffer from agnosia; others suffer from olfactory distortion, where they have a sense of smell but it has become twisted—once the sweet aroma of an apple pie suddenly becomes foul. People with this disease may also smell non-existent odors.