Doty Richard L
Smell and Taste Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Semin Neurol. 2009 Feb;29(1):74-81. doi: 10.1055/s-0028-1124025. Epub 2009 Feb 12.
The sense of smell is greatly underappreciated, despite the fact that it monitors the intake of airborne agents into the human respiratory system and determines to a large degree the flavor and palatability of foods and beverages. In addition to enhancing quality of life, this primary sensory system warns of spoiled foods, leaking natural gas, polluted air and smoke, and mediates basic elements of communication (e.g., mother-infant interactions). It is now apparent that smell dysfunction is among the first clinical signs of such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's disease and sporadic Parkinson's disease. In this brief article, the author reviews the anatomy and physiology of this primary sensory system, means of assessing its function, and major diseases and disorders with which it is intimately associated.
嗅觉的重要性常常被低估，尽管它负责监测空气中的物质进入人体呼吸系统，并在很大程度上决定食物和饮料的风味及适口性。除了提高生活质量外，这个主要的感觉系统还能警示变质食物、天然气泄漏、空气污染和烟雾，并介导交流的基本要素（例如母婴互动）。现在很明显，嗅觉功能障碍是阿尔茨海默病和散发性帕金森病等神经退行性疾病的首批临床症状之一。在这篇简短的文章中，作者回顾了这个主要感觉系统的解剖学和生理学、评估其功能的方法，以及与之密切相关的主要疾病和功能紊乱。
