In the staff report How do the mechanics of smell work? Fierra did a great job explaining how the sense of smell works by odorants triggering the olfactory receptor neurons. But I have one unresolved question: what happens afterwards? I assume the odorants don’t just pile up in the olfactory epithelium. How do the receptors recognize “you’ve been smelled now - time to move along”? What’s the mechanism for getting rid of the odorants and where do they go?
I always assumed they were flung out upon exhalation.
Thank you for the comments, Little Nemo. Fierra would respond but she’s AFK until tomorrow or possibly later.
This same question has already been asked twice now: