a
a
from Junqueira
Figure 17-3.
Olfactory epithelium. (a, b): The olfactory epithelium covers the superior
conchae bilaterally and sends axons from throughout its entire 10 cm2 area
to the brain via small openings in the cribriform plate of the ethmoid
bone. It is a pseudostratified epithelium, containing basal stem cells
and columnar support cells in addition to the bipolar olfactory neurons.
The dendrites of these neurons are at the luminal ends and have cilia specialized
with many membrane receptors for odor molecules. Binding such ligands causes
depolarization which passes along basal axons to the olfactory bulb of
the brain X200. H&E.