RESPONSES TO ODORANTS 



55 



odorous and clean air without altering the flow rate into the breathing 

 chamber. 



(a) Relative humidity, gaseous medium, and temperature. Olfactory 

 responses to amyl acetate in the concentration range of 10'^ to 10- of 



Fig. 10. Section through Jacobson's organ approximately parallel to the sagittal 

 plane, stained with Gomori's trichrome. The naris is to the left. The maximum 

 linear distance in the lumen of Jacobson's organ is about 1 mm. Heavily stained 

 bundles of trigeminal nerve appear directly above the organ. Lightly stained 

 bundles of vomeronasal nerve appear above the trigeminal nerve tissue and 

 extend into the region between Jacobson's organ and the nasal vestibule. 



saturation at 20 C were independent of relative humidity. An effect of 

 dry air was to accelerate deterioration of the preparation, which was 

 evident only at high nasal flow rates. 



Nitrogen, oxygen, argon and mixtures thereof were tried in place of air 

 as the carrier gas for amyl acetate. No effect on the phasic (initial) olfactory 

 response was seen. Second-order effects on the tonic olfactory response to 

 amyl acetate and background olfactory activity were seen upon exclusion of 

 oxygen or introduction of carbon dioxide (Tucker, 1962). 



Temperature variation over the range of 20-30°C had practically no 

 effect. Amyl acetate concentrations were maintained in terms of saturation 



