The olfactory bulb is an oval swelling of brain tissue on the underside of each frontal lobe, lying on the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone. It receives the olfactory nerve fibres coming up through the cribriform plate from the nasal lining. Inside, these fibres synapse with mitral and tufted cells in rounded clusters called glomeruli.
| Location | On the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, in the olfactory sulcus beneath the frontal lobe |
|---|---|
| Parts |
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| Connections |
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| Blood Supply | Anterior cerebral artery (orbitofrontal branches); Anterior ethmoidal artery |
Receives and first processes smell signals from the nose, sharpening and organising them before sending them on to the olfactory cortex.
Shearing of the olfactory nerve fibres at the bulb in head injury is a common cause of permanent loss of smell. Small olfactory bulbs on MRI are seen in congenital anosmia and Kallmann syndrome, and bulb volume can fall after viral anosmia. Olfactory groove meningiomas can compress the bulbs and cause gradual loss of smell.
Loss of smell after head injury from shearing of olfactory fibres at the bulb or damage to the bulb itself.
A genetic disorder with absent or small olfactory bulbs, loss of smell and delayed puberty.
A tumour on the cribriform plate that compresses the olfactory bulbs and frontal lobes.
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