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anosmia

File:Anosmia.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ468433· pop 49· linked from 220 articles

Also known as inability to smell, loss of smell, smell blindness, odor blindness, noseblindneaa

Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the lack of ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.

Key facts

Medical condition (new).name
Anosmia
Medical condition (new).synonym
Loss of smell, smell blindness, odor blindness
Medical condition (new).image
Anosmia.jpg
Medical condition (new).alt
A side view anatomical drawing of the nasal sinuses depicting inflamed mucosa
Medical condition (new).caption
Inflamed nasal mucosa causing anosmia
Medical condition (new).specialty
Otorhinolaryngology
Medical condition (new).types
Partial, total

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

5,460 papers

via PubMed

~10 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Causes
  • COVID-19-related anosmia
  • Decision-making in COVID-19 patients
  • Possible causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment
  • Epidemiology
  • Famous people with anosmia
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading

Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the lack of ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.

Anosmia can be categorized into acquired anosmia and congenital anosmia. Acquired anosmia develops later in life due to various causes, such as upper respiratory infections, head trauma, or neurodegenerative diseases. In contrast, congenital anosmia is present from birth and is typically caused by genetic factors or developmental abnormalities of the olfactory system. While acquired anosmia may have potential treatments depending on the underlying cause, such as medications or surgery, congenital anosmia currently has no known cure, and management focuses on safety precautions and coping strategies.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “anosmia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.