Olfactory glands, also known as Bowman's glands, are a type of

nasal gland The nasal glands are the Exocrine gland, seromucous glands in the Respiratory system, respiratory region of the Nasal mucosa, nasal mucous membrane. The three major types of nasal glands are anterior serous glands, seromucous glands, and Bowman g ...

situated in the part of the

olfactory mucosa The olfactory mucosa is the Neuroepithelial cell, neuroepithelial mucosa lining the roof and upper parts of the Nasal septum, septum and lateral wall of the nasal cavity which contains Bipolar neuron, bipolar neurons of the primary receptor neur ...

beneath the

olfactory epithelium The olfactory epithelium is a specialized epithelium, epithelial tissue inside the nasal cavity that is involved in olfaction, smell. In humans, it measures and lies on the roof of the nasal cavity about above and behind the nostrils. The olfact ...

, that is the lamina propria, a connective tissue also containing fibroblasts, blood vessels and bundles of fine

axons An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis) or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences) is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action pot ...

from the olfactory

neurons A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...

. An olfactory gland consists of an acinus in the lamina propria and a secretory duct going out through the olfactory epithelium. Electron microscopy studies show that olfactory glands contain cells with large secretory vesicles. Olfactory glands secrete the gel-forming

mucin Mucins () are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated proteins ( glycoconjugates) produced by epithelial tissues in most animals. Mucins' key characteristic is their ability to form gels; therefore they are a key component in ...

protein MUC5B. They might secrete proteins such as lactoferrin,

lysozyme Lysozyme (, muramidase, ''N''-acetylmuramide glycanhydrolase; systematic name peptidoglycan ''N''-acetylmuramoylhydrolase) is an antimicrobial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the innate immune system. It is a glycoside hydrolase ...

amylase An amylase () is an enzyme that catalysis, catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin ') into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain large ...

and IgA, similarly to

serous glands Serous glands secrete serous fluid. They contain serous acini, a grouping of serous cells that secrete serous fluid, isotonic with blood plasma, that contains enzymes such as alpha-amylase. Serous glands are most common in the parotid gland ...

. The exact composition of the secretions from olfactory glands is unclear, but there is evidence that they produce odorant-binding protein.

Function

The olfactory glands are tubuloalveolar glands surrounded by

olfactory receptors Olfactory receptors (ORs), also known as odorant receptors, are chemoreceptors expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory receptor neurons and are responsible for the detection of odorants (for example, compounds that have an odor) which give ...

and sustentacular cells in the olfactory epithelium. These glands produce mucus to lubricate the olfactory epithelium and dissolve odorant-containing gases. Several olfactory binding proteins are produced from the olfactory glands that help facilitate the transportation of odorants to the olfactory receptors. These cells exhibit the mRNA to transform growth factor α, stimulating the production of new olfactory receptor cells.

References

External links

Slide at ouhsc.edu
Olfactory system {{anatomy-stub

Function

See also

References

External links