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A Role for Lung Retention in the Sense of Retronasal Smell

  • Published:
Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Introduction

In olfaction, odors typically engage the lungs on the way to the nose to evoke retronasal smell. This is most notable not only when the lung has a first pass effect during smoking/vaping but also upon exhaling after sniffing an odor. The lungs act as a sink for odors, which can both reduce the retronasal odor concentration and the odor mixture makeup.

Materials and Methods

Lung retention is a simple measure that quantifies the effectiveness of the sink. Lung retention has been studied in the context of environmental toxicology and is known for many volatile organic compounds. Published lung retention data was used to explore its potential to affect different modes of olfaction.

Results and Discussion

Available data on human lung retention suggests that the lungs may have a large impact on odor perception and that this may depend heavily on the specifics of active sampling such as sniffing, smoking, and vaping. Suggestions are included for transient measures and models of lung retention.

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Acknowledgments

The author is supported by NIH/NIDCD grant R01DC011286. The author thanks Drs. Vahid Mohsenin and Arthur Dubois for very helpful discussions on the physiology of VOC absorption in the pulmonary system and circulation. The author is grateful for the helpful feedback by Drs. Thomas P. Eiting, Shaina M. Short, Barry Green, and Guillermo Coronas-Samano on a first draft of the manuscript.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

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Conflict of Interest

Author J.V. Verhagen declares that he has no conflict of interest.

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by the author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The John B. Pierce Laboratory, 209 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Justus V. Verhagen

  2. Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Justus V. Verhagen

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  1. Justus V. Verhagen
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Correspondence to Justus V. Verhagen.

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Verhagen, J.V. A Role for Lung Retention in the Sense of Retronasal Smell. Chem. Percept. 8, 78–84 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-015-9181-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-015-9181-z

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