# What is the organ of smell?

Gray’s Anatomy (1918) describes the organ of smell as follows: The peripheral olfactory organ or organ of smell consists of two parts: an outer, the external nose, which projects from the center of the face; and an internal, the nasal cavity, which is divided by a septum into right and left nasal chambers.

## What it means

- The peripheral olfactory organ or organ of smell consists of two parts: an outer, the external nose, which projects from the center of the face; and an internal, the nasal cavity, which is divided by a septum into right and left nasal chambers. the External Nose (Nasus Externus; Outer Nose) —The external nose is pyramidal in form, and its upper angle or root is connected directly with the forehead; its free angle is termed the apex.
- Its base is perforated by two elliptical orifices, the nares, separated from each other by an antero-posterior septum, the columna. The margins of the nares are provided with a number of stiff hairs, or vibrissæ, which arrest the passage of foreign substances carried with the current of air intended for respiration.
- The lateral surfaces of the nose form, by their union in the middle line, the dorsum nasi, the direction of which varies considerably in different individuals; the upper part of the dorsum is supported by the nasal bones, and is named the bridge. The lateral surface ends below in a rounded eminence, the ala nasi. Structure. —The frame-work of the external nose is composed of bones and cartilages; it is covered by the integument, and lined by mucous membrane.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/1b-the-organ-of-smell/)

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