U.S. flag
				An official website of the United States government
					Here's how you know
        Here's how you know
		U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			|

			National Institutes of HealthDot gov**Official websites use .gov**
						
						A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
			Https**Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
						
            A **lock** (A locked padlock)
            or **https://** means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.  **
Menu
NIDCD Employee Intranet | A–Z Index | En Español


    close

        
        
                      Home
      
    
              Health Info
      
                
  
          **Health Info**
          
    
              Hearing, Ear Infections, and Deafness
      
    
              Balance
      
    
              Taste and Smell
      
    
              Voice, Speech, and Language
      
    
              Información en español
      
    
              Statistics
      
    
              Health Resources
      
    
              Clinical Studies
      
    
              Adult Hearing Health Care
      
    
              Research
      
                
  
          **Research**
          
    
              Extramural Research
      
    
              Intramural Research
      
    
              Building a Diverse Scientific Workforce
      
    
              Scientific Workshop and Meeting Reports
      
    
              Clinical Studies
      
    
              Global Health
      
    
              Grants & Funding
      
                
  
          **Grants & Funding**
          
    
              Types of Grants and Funding
      
    
              How to Apply for a Grant
      
    
              All NIDCD Funding Opportunities
      
    
              The BRAIN Initiative and the NIDCD
      
    
              Training
      
                
  
          **Training**
          
    
              About NIDCD's Research Training Program
      
    
              Types of Research Training Funding Opportunities
      
    
              Research Training in NIDCD Laboratories (Intramural)
      
    
              More Training Resources
      
    
              News & Events
      
                
  
          **News & Events**
          
    
              NIDCD News
      
    
              Grantee News
      
    
              Multimedia
      
    
              Events
      
    
              Sign up. Stay informed.
      
    
              About Us
      
                
  
          **About Us**
          
    
              Messages from the NIDCD Director
      
    
              Mission
      
    
              Strategic Plans
      
    
              NIDCD History and Milestones
      
    
              Organizational Structure and Staff
      
    
              Job Opportunities
      
    
              Congressional Testimony and the NIDCD Budget
      
    
              Advisory Groups and Review Committees
      
    
              Contact Us
      
    
              Get Involved Breadcrumb
    Home
              News & Events
              Multimedia Library
  
      How We Smell


Share this on:
This GIF shows how a whiff of smelly air travels through the human nose. The GIF follows odor particles (the colored dots) on their journey through the nasal cavity, or passageways behind the nose. Some of the particles travel up toward an area in the nasal cavity where odor-sensing cells are located (this area is marked in white below the eye). Only a few particles are needed to trigger the sense of smell. The remaining particles travel down toward the lungs (through the pink circle marked at lower right) and are eventually breathed out.

Source: NIDCD grantee Kai Zhao, Ph.D., Ohio State University (NIDCD grant RO1DC013626), and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Media and Public Relations
      
            An animated GIF depicting the path of scent particles through the nasal passages.
      
            Embed this multimedia on your website

Copy and paste this code to embed the content in your website, blog, or other distribution channels. Information on our website is in the public domain, but we appreciate when you link to the source and when credit is given to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health.

<a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/multimedia/how-we-smell?utm_source=nidcd-multimedia-library&utm_medium=embeddable-image&utm_campaign=how-we-smell"><img src="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Shareable%20Images/how-we-smell_source.gif" alt="An animated GIF depicting the path of scent particles through the nasal passages."></a>

Last Updated Date:
      August 22, 2018
              Media Inquiries
    
      
            Contact the NIDCD press office at news@nidcd.nih.gov. COVID-19
                              Accessibility
                              Contact Us
                              Free Publications
                              Freedom of Information Act
                              Privacy
                              Site Map
                              Syndication
                              Vulnerability Disclosure
                              Website Policies
                              Subscribe to NIDCD Email Updates 


    Follow Us:
                                                Facebook
                
                                                X

              31 Center Drive, MSC 2320, Bethesda, MD USA 20892-2320

              800-241-1044

                nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov

          U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
                National Institutes of Health
                USA.gov—Government Made Easy