The 500 human olfactory receptor genes are shadowed by about the same number of silent pseudogenes.

Alas, my nose apparently was shortchanged on olfactory receptor cells.

Here, some 500 types of olfactory receptor proteins bind different combinations of odorant molecules.

But our 500 intact, coding olfactory receptor genes are still enough to provide a good olfactory system.

At the glomerular layer, axons from the olfactory receptor neurons intermingle with dendrites from intrinsic olfactory bulb neurons: mitrial/tufted cells and dopaminergic periglomerular cells.