olfactory bulb

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. the enlarged terminal part of each olfactory lobe from which the olfactory nerve originates.

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olfactory bulb British  

noun

1. the anterior and slightly enlarged end of the olfactory tract, from which the cranial nerves concerned with the sense of smell originate

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Etymology

Origin of olfactory bulb

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The olfactory bulb, located in the forebrain, processes signals from scent receptors in the nose.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026

The locus coeruleus, found in the brainstem, helps regulate this process through long nerve fibers that extend to the olfactory bulb.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026

They found that through olfactory training, people with smell loss and people with normal olfaction alike can achieve increases in the size or volume of the olfactory bulb and hippocampus.

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025

A study published last year in the Journal of Neuroscience revealed that canines’ brain has a direct connection between their olfactory bulb, which processes smell, and their occipital lobe, which processes vision.

From Scientific American • Oct. 4, 2023

We like to regard the olfactory bulb as a sort of archeologic find, and we speak of the ancient olfactory parts of the brain as though they were elderly, dotty relatives in need of hobbies.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas