Where is the olfactory bulb located in the brain?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

olfactory system Sagittal view of the human nasal cavity.

The olfactory bulb is a small, oval-shaped structure located in the forebrain. It is situated within the cranial cavity, resting directly upon the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone.12

Functionally, the olfactory bulb serves as the termination point for the olfactory nerve fibers, which pass through the openings in the bony roof of the nasal cavity to reach it. Within the bulb, these nerve fibers make contact with the dendrites of mitral cells, which then transmit olfactory information further into the brain via the olfactory tract. In terms of its broader anatomical position, the olfactory bulb is considered an anterior projection of the olfactory lobe.123