Term (literally "relating to the olfactory nerve") for the perception of odour (olfactus) via the receptors in the nose in contrast to the perception of taste via the tongue and palate. The olfactory nerve (lat. Nervus olfactorius) is the first and shortest of the 12 cranial nerves. It is responsible for the transmission of olfactory impressions from the olfactory mucosa, which in humans is twice the size of a postage stamp (2 x 5 cm²), in the upper part of the nasal cavity with 20 million olfactory cells (receptors) to the primary olfactory cortex in the cerebrum.

Olfactory system: A = olfactory bulb, B = ethmoid bone, C = olfactory epithelium (olfactory mucosa); 1 = odour receptor (odour uptake), 2 = olfactory bulb (glomerulus, signalling bundle), 3 = mitral cell (transmission to the brain)
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