Taste and Smell Lab
Taste and Smell Lab Report
Introduction
Often, we do not realize just how important our taste and smell senses are to every day life. We go about our day and do the normal human thing. We sleep, eat, shower, get dressed, go to school, work, etc. What if our sense of taste and smell were taken away? How would it change these every day routines? If there were a house fire while we were sleeping and we could not smell the smoke, what would happen? What if we could not taste or smell the food we were eating? What if we could not smell if our bodies were clean when we showered? As a nurse, what if I could not smell a foul odor in regards to urine or fecal matter? So many things would change without taste and smell. Taste and smell are examples of chemoreception, in which specific chemical compounds are detected by the sense organs and interpreted by various regions of the brain. (Wise, 2012) In this lab, we tested taste determination of solid materials-whether a person can taste a solid substance placed in the middle of their tongue when it is dry. It is unlikely that a person can taste the substance as it does not touch the taste receptors on the sides of the tongue.
The second thing we tested was olfactory discrimination-if a person can tell which scents they are smelling with their eyes closed. There is a strong relationship between sight and smell. If a person cannot see what they are smelling, they often cannot connect to what they are smelling.
The third thing we tested was adaptation to smell-how long a person could continuously smell something that was placed under their nose. Humans tend to adapt to certain smells in their lives. A woman often cannot smell her perfume after wearing it continuously.
The last thing we tested was taste and olfaction- if a person could taste something without the use of smell. There is a strong relationship between taste and
Introduction
Often, we do not realize just how important our taste and smell senses are to every day life. We go about our day and do the normal human thing. We sleep, eat, shower, get dressed, go to school, work, etc. What if our sense of taste and smell were taken away? How would it change these every day routines? If there were a house fire while we were sleeping and we could not smell the smoke, what would happen? What if we could not taste or smell the food we were eating? What if we could not smell if our bodies were clean when we showered? As a nurse, what if I could not smell a foul odor in regards to urine or fecal matter? So many things would change without taste and smell. Taste and smell are examples of chemoreception, in which specific chemical compounds are detected by the sense organs and interpreted by various regions of the brain. (Wise, 2012) In this lab, we tested taste determination of solid materials-whether a person can taste a solid substance placed in the middle of their tongue when it is dry. It is unlikely that a person can taste the substance as it does not touch the taste receptors on the sides of the tongue.
The second thing we tested was olfactory discrimination-if a person can tell which scents they are smelling with their eyes closed. There is a strong relationship between sight and smell. If a person cannot see what they are smelling, they often cannot connect to what they are smelling.
The third thing we tested was adaptation to smell-how long a person could continuously smell something that was placed under their nose. Humans tend to adapt to certain smells in their lives. A woman often cannot smell her perfume after wearing it continuously.
The last thing we tested was taste and olfaction- if a person could taste something without the use of smell. There is a strong relationship between taste and
References: Wise, E. (2012). Anatomy and physiology lab manual. (6 ed., pp. 315-332). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.