Anosmia

Anosmia is the medical term for the loss of sense of smell and it affects approximately 5% of the population. While anosmia is not a life-threatening condition it can have a significant impact on a persons quality of life as it can affect ones ability to taste food and smell pleasant aromas and can also be linked to social isolation and depression. The sense of smell is one of the most complex of our senses involving the detection of thousands of different odors by specialized cells in the nose called olfactory receptor neurons. These neurons are located in the olfactory epithelium a specialized tissue in the upper part of the nasal cavity. When we inhale air odor molecules enter the nose and bind to the olfactory receptor neurons which then send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve.