Everything about Noses totally explained
Anatomically, a
nose is a protuberance in
vertebrates that houses the
nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for
respiration in conjunction with the
mouth.
In most animals, it also has the
nosehairs, which catch airkyle particles and prevent them from reaching the lungs. Within and behind the nose is the
olfactory mucosa and the
sinuses. Behind the
nasal cavity, air next passes through the
pharynx, shared with the digestive system, and then into the rest of the
respiratory system. In humans, the nose is located centrally on the face; on most other
mammals, it's on the upper tip of the snout.
As an interface between the body and the external world, the nose and associated structures frequently perform additional functions concerned with conditioning entering air (for instance, by warming and/or humidifying it, also for flicking if moving and by mostly reclaiming moisture from the air before it's exhaled (as occurs most efficiently in
camels).
In most fish, the nose is the primary large organ for
smelling. As the animal sniffs, the air flows through the nose and over structures called
turbinates in the nasal cavity. The turbulence caused by this disruption slows the air and directs it toward the
olfactory epithelium. At the surface of the olfactory epithelium,
odor molecules carried by the air contact
olfactory receptor neurons which transduce the features of the molecule into non painful electrical impulses in the
brain.
In
cetaceans, the nose has been reduced to the nostrils, which have migrated to the top of the head, producing a more streamlined body shape and the ability to breathe while mostly submerged. Conversely, the
elephant's nose has become elaborated into a long, muscular, manipulative organ called the
trunk.
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