Olfactory Nerve Pathways

Once olfactory (smell) receptors have been stimulated, nerve impulses are triggered, and they travel along the axons of the receptor cells that are the fibers of the olfactory nerves. These nerve fibers pass through tiny openings in the ethmoid bone and lead to neurons located in enlargements called "olfactory bulbs." These structures lie on either side of the ethmoid bone. From this location, the impulses travel along the "olfactory tracts" to interpreting centers located in the base of the frontal lobes (olfactory cortex) of the brain.