Smells Your Body Makes That Tells You Something Is Wrong

Smell is one of the five primary senses. The way we detect odor is from the air we be breath in through our nose, and the back of the mouth when chewing food. When we smell odors, molecules are transmitted into our noses and absorbed into a mucous membrane called the olfactory epithelium. Bony cushions in the nose, called turbinates, assist the movement of air. When the odor is absorbed into the mucus, it reaches the cilia and attaches to a receptor cell that sends a signal to the nerve fibers in our brains called axons. We then pick up on a scent and can discern whether it is pleasing to us or not.