Objective: To examine the relationship between uninasal anatomy and olfactory ability.
Design: A stepwise analysis of variance was used to regress the logarithm of the percentage of correct responses on the Odorant Confusion Matrix (a measure of olfactory ability) against the logarithm of nasal volume measurements determined from computed tomographic scans.
Participants: Nineteen patients with hyposmia whose olfactory losses were thought to be related to conductive disorders.
Results: After correcting for sex differences, a mathematical model was developed in which the volume of 6 regions of the nasal cavity, 6 first-order interactions, and 3 second-order interactions accounted for 97% of the variation in the measure of olfactory ability.
Conclusions: Increases in the size of compartments of the nasal cavity around the olfactory cleft generally increase olfactory ability. Also, anatomical differences in the nasal cavities of men and women may account, in part, for sex differences in olfactory ability.