Essay Topic The Sense of Smell Final

Essay topic The sense of smell
-This is an example of how to do the essay. Note this is just an example

and much of the text has been copied from a textbook. All essays will be
checked using a plagiarism checker and significant amounts of text
copied word for word from textbooks or papers will be severely marked
down and potentially failed. You need to use your own words.
By A.student (student numberxxxx)
Abstract (less than 100 words)
Smell is usually considered as one of the “five senses”, the others being taste, hearing, vision
and touch. This essay will discuss the sense of smell including a review of the anatomy, a
discussion of the physiology of how smell is monitored and how it creates action potentials to
be transmitted to the brain. The pathways these action potentials take to the brain and its
processing within the brain is reviewed, and a final section describes why sense of smell is lost
in patients.
Introduction-this sets the scene for the rest of the essay

In evolutionary terms the sense of smell is one of the oldest senses. The sense of smell is useful
to identify food that is safe to eat and that which has gone rotten, identify dangers such as
hazardous chemicals and gives us pleasure through the smell of flowers and perfume.
Anatomy and smell receptors

Olfaction (the sense of smell) is dependent on receptors that respond to airborne particles. In
the nasal cavity either side of the nasal septum there are paired olfactory organs made up of
two layers (Fig 1)
 Olfactory epithelium – this layer contains the olfactory receptor cells, supporting cells
and regenerative basal cells (stem cells) that mature into receptor cells to replace those
that die.
 Lamina propria – a layer of areolar tissue containing numerous blood vessels and
nerves. This layer also contains the olfactory glands, which secrete a lipid‐rich substance
that absorbs water to form a thick mucus that covers the olfactory epithelium.

The olfactory region of each of the two nasal passages is about 2.5 cm2 (Jenkins and
Tortora, 2013) and between them they contain approximately 50 million receptor cells.
When air is inhaled through the nose the air in the nasal cavity is subject to turbulent flow and
this ensures that airborne smell particles (odorant molecules) are brought to the olfactory
organs. Approximately 2% of the inhaled air in an average inspiration passes the olfactory
organs; the act of sniffing increases this percentage by a large amount. The olfactory receptors
can only be stimulated by compounds that are soluble in water or lipid and can therefore
diffuse through the mucus that overlies the olfactory epithelium.
The olfactory receptors are highly modified neurones contained within the olfactory
epithelium. The tip of each receptor projects beyond the surface of the epithelium (Fig 1). This
projection forms the base for up to 20 cilia (hair‐like structures) that extend into the
surrounding mucus. These cilia lie laterally in the mucus (they lie relatively flat rather than
upright), thus exposing a larger surface area to any compound that is dissolved into the mucus.
Dissolved chemicals interact with odorant‐binding proteins on the surface of the cilia; a local
depolarisation occurs by the opening of sodium channels in the cell membrane. If enough local
depolarisations occur, then an action potential is generated within the receptor cell.
The Olfactory Pathway

The olfactory system is very sensitive and as little as four molecules can lead to the activation of
a receptor. However, activation of a receptor cell does not mean there will be awareness of the
smell. There is a significant amount of convergence along the olfactory nervous pathway and
inhibition at intervening synapses can prevent the signal from reaching the olfactory cortex in
the brain. However, the olfactory threshold remains very low; for instance, humans can detect
very low concentrations of the chemicals added to the odourless natural gas used in the home,
making it ‘smell’ and thus ensuring leaks are detected by the homeowner.
On each side of the nose, axons leaving the olfactory epithelium receptor cells collect into 20 or
more bundles that penetrate the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone (Fig 1); these bundles
comprise the right and left olfactory nerves until they reach the olfactory bulbs in the brain. At
the olfactory bulbs the axons converge to connect with postsynaptic (mitral) cells in large
synaptic structures called glomeruli. Efferent fibres of cells elsewhere in the brain also
innervate the olfactory bulb, thus allowing for the potential inhibition of the signalling
pathways, for instance in central adaptation.
Fig 1. Olfactory pathway. Source: Tortora and Derrickson (2009). IF YOU ARE COPYING A FIG FROM
A TEXTBOOK YOU NEED TO QUOTE ITS SOURCE LIKE I HAVE DONE. NOTE HAND DRAWN FIGURES WILL
ALSO BE ACCEPTABLE.
Central Adaptation
Humans tend to ‘habituate’ to persistent smells to the point that they are no longer perceived.
This is not due to the local receptors adapting to the persistent stimuli; it is a function of central
adaptation. That is, higher centres in the brain are responsible for our reduced perception of a
persistent smell. The transmission of the sensory information for that particular smell is
inhibited at the level of the olfactory bulb by nerve impulses from the centres in the brain.
Axons exiting from the olfactory bulbs travel along the olfactory nerves (cranial nerve I, which is
a paired nerve) to reach the olfactory cortex, the hypothalamus and portions of the limbic
system via the olfactory tracts. Olfactory stimulation is the only sensory information that
reaches the cerebral cortex directly; all other senses are processed by the thalamus first. The
fact that the limbic system and hypothalamus receive olfactory input helps to explain the
profound emotional response that can be triggered by certain smells.
Olfactory Discrimination
The olfactory system can make distinctions among some 2000–4000 chemical stimuli; however,
there are no reasons that can be found to explain this in the structure of the receptor cells
themselves. Though the epithelium is divided into areas of receptors with particular sensitivity
for certain smells, it appears that the central nervous system interprets each smell by analysing
the overall pattern of receptor activity (Tortora and Derrickson, 2012). It has been proposed
that smell is perceived in primary odours (Haehner et al., 2013); the exact number remains a
source of contention and estimates vary from 7 to 30. Some of the smells that we perceive are
not detected by the olfactory receptors at all; some of what we sense is actually pain. The nasal
cavity contains pain receptors that respond to certain irritants such as ammonia, chillies and
menthol. As we get older, smell discrimination and sensitivity reduce as we lose receptors
compared with the total number we had when younger and the receptors that remain become
less sensitive.
THIS LAST SECTION IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE YOU CAN FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR

ASPECT OF THE AREA IN A BIT MORE DETAIL
Clinical Considerations Loss of the Sense of Smell (Anosmia) and risk prevention
The loss of the sense of smell (known as anosmia) is normally an acquired disorder due to
either trauma to the nose or brain injury, but some people are born without a sense of smell
(congenital anosmia).
While appearing to be a minor problem, the loss of the sense of smell is often associated with
feelings of depression and a reduced quality of life (Neuland et al., 2011).
While temporary anosmia is common with conditions such as rhinitis, the common cold and hay
fever, permanent anosmia is often related to trauma, surgery and degenerative conditions such
as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Anosmia has been reported in patients with covid infection and
a case report series of 5 patients with covid showed microblading occured in the olfactory bulbs
on MRI leading the authors to state that this may be the cause of the loss of smell (Aragao
2020-showing how to write the full reference below as an example). However, only 5 patients
were studied and only 3 of these had loss of smell and more subjects need to be assessed to
confirm or refute the generality of this finding -This is an example of a critical review of the
paper).
Anosmia is noted to be an early indicator of Parkinson’s with 95% of patients presenting with
anosmia years before motor‐related symptoms appear (Haehner et al., 2011).
Patients with anosmia are advised to take certain safety measures:
 install smoke alarms;
 clearly mark expiry dates on food and leftovers;
 read the warning labels on chemical agents and cleaners to avoid potentially harmful
gases;
 switch from gas to electric.
Word count (excluding references and abstract)= 1198-note your essay

needs to be between 1400 and 2000, Abstract= 84 words-no more than
100 words
References
1, this is how to quote a book reference:
Greenblatt, S. (2010) ‘The traces of Shakespeare’s life’, in De Grazia, M. and Wells, S. (eds.) The new
Cambridge companion to Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–14.
2. This is how to write the reference to a paper: Anosmia in COVID-19 Associated with Injury
to the Olfactory Bulbs Evident on MRI.
Aragão MFVV, Leal MC, Cartaxo Filho OQ, Fonseca TM, Valença MM.AJNR (2020). Am J
Neuroradiol. 41(9):1703-1706. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A6675.

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Essay topic The sense of smell

-This is an example of how to do the essay. Note this is just an example

Introduction-this sets the scene for the rest of the essay

Anatomy and smell receptors

The Olfactory Pathway

THIS LAST SECTION IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE YOU CAN FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR

Word count (excluding references and abstract)= 1198-note your essay

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