Page 54 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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Under some circumstances, when a heavy blow is received to the
head—in a traffic accident, for instance—olfactory cells may be com-
pressed in the ethmoid bone, one of those making up the skull. If the dam-
age is not too great, new cells take over, thus preventing any loss of scent

perception. This re-acquisition of the sense of smell has been observed in
a great many cases. 44
How do the new cells unfailingly know where to install themselves?
How do they reach their objectives in the olfactory region? How are new
receptors able to maintain the communication established by their prede-
cessors with scent molecules, with no loss or error occurring? How is
communication between the receptors and the olfactory bulb re-estab-
lished, with no deficiency or error?
The world of science keenly awaits answers to these and similar
questions. 45 What is known at present is the existence of astonishing
mechanisms among the cells, the details of which are not known. Even
though roughly a million olfactory cells are completely replaced every 45
days, you still perceive the
smell of a rose as be-