Page 58 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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(Figure 17)
Side: The location of
VNO
the vomeronasal or-
gan (VNO) in the
nose.
(Figure 18)
Below: The cellular
organization in the
vomeronasal organ.

Nasal cavity But it has already
Micro-hairs
emerged that the VNO is
of vital importance to
some insects and animals.
Sustentacu
lar (sup- For example, the social, re-
porting)
cells productive and hunting of
snakes with damaged
Receptor VNOs becomes impaired.
cell
Rats with no sexual expe-
rience and whose VNOs
were surgically removed
Basal
cells were unable to mate, al-
though their other organs

functioned perfectly. 48
We know for certain that there are unknown mechanisms in the ol-
factory region in our noses. For example, consider the relationship be-
tween color and odor sensitivity. This region is light yellow in human be-

The Miracles of Smell and
Taste