olfactory nerve

The olfactory nerve, or cranial nerve I, is the first of twelve pairs of cranial nerves. It is instrumental in the sense of smell. Derived from the embryonic nasal placode, the olfactory nerve is capable of regeneration. The olfactory nerve is sensory in nature and originates on the olfactory mucosa in the anterosuperior nasal cavity. From the olfactory mucosa, the nerve travels down the olfactory tract until it reaches the olfactory bulb, where the fascicles of the olfactory nerve pass through foramina on the cribriform plate, which resides on the roof of the nasal cavity. These fascicles are not visible on a cadaver brain because they are severed upon removal.