| Olfactory glands | |
|---|---|
 Section of the olfactory mucous membrane | |
| Details | |
| System | Olfactory system |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | glandulae olfactoriae |
| TA98 | A15.1.00.003 |
| TA2 | 6733 |
| TH | H3.05.00.0.00026 |
| FMA | 77659 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Olfactory glands, also known as Bowman's glands, are a type of nasal gland situated in the part of the olfactory mucosa beneath the olfactory epithelium, that is the lamina propria, a connective tissue also containing fibroblasts, blood vessels and bundles of fine axons from the olfactory neurons.[1]
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.[2] Olfactory glands secrete the gel-forming mucin protein MUC5B.[3] They might secrete proteins such as lactoferrin, lysozyme, amylase and IgA, similarly to serous glands. The exact composition of the secretions from olfactory glands is unclear, but there is evidence that they produce odorant-binding protein.[4][5]
- ^ Moran, David T.; Rowley Jc, 3rd; Jafek, BW; Lovell, MA (1982), "The fine structure of the olfactory mucosa in man", Journal of Neurocytology, 11 (5): 721–746, doi:10.1007/BF01153516, PMID 7143026, S2CID 25263022
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Frisch, Donald (1967), "Ultrastructure of mouse olfactory mucosa.", The American Journal of Anatomy, 121 (1): 87–120, doi:10.1002/aja.1001210107, PMID 6052394
- ^ Amini, S. E.; Gouyer, V.; Portal, C.; Gottrand, C.; Desseyn, J.-L. (2019), "Muc5b is mainly expressed and sialylated in the nasal olfactory epithelium whereas Muc5ac is exclusively expressed and fucosylated in the nasal respiratory epithelium." (PDF), Histochem Cell Biol, 152 (2): 167–174, doi:10.1007/s00418-019-01785-5, PMID 31030254, S2CID 253886824
- ^ Gartner, Leslie P.; Hiatt, James L. (2007). Color Textbook of Histology. Saunders/Elsevier. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-4160-2945-8.
- ^ Tegoni, Mariella; Pelosi, P; Vincent, F; Spinelli, S; Campanacci, V; Grolli, S; Ramoni, R; Cambillau, C (2000), "Mammalian odorant binding proteins", Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology, 1482 (1–2) (published 1967): 229–240, doi:10.1016/S0167-4838(00)00167-9, PMID 11058764