osmo-, osmia-, osmi-, osm-, -osmia, -osmatic (smell) +

A seldom used termed for a condition in which odors are incorrectly interpreted or identified.

Related to the absence of the sense of smell: "Anosmatic conditions may be the result of blocked nasal passages caused by years of sinus problems, or a bad attack of influenza, or other infections may be the cause; such as, severe allergies, asthma, head injuries, or congenital abnormalities have all led to a loss of smell."

"Some whales are said to be anosmatic because they lack olfactory organs."

The loss or absence of the sense of smell or a decreased ability to smell foods: The famous chef was very concerned when he was given a diagnosis of anosmia gustatoria because his profession depended on his ability to smell as well as to taste.

1. The absence of the sense of smell or olfactory anesthesia: "The anosmias consist of a lack of sensation of the nerves or fibers located at the top of the nose which normally convert smells into nerve impulses."
2. The complete loss of the sense of smell, usually a result of either a disease of the olfactory mucousa with damage to olfactory end-organs, or to lesions of the olfactory nerve fibers and tracts: "Anosmia may be caused by a head injury with a division of olfactory nerve fibers which are the nerves that carry smell sensations from the nose to the brain."

A person who has lost the ability to smell.

A reference to the loss or absence of the sense of smell: "Anosmic reactions may be for all odorants or only partial for certain smells, or specific to one or more odors."

"Recent medical studies indicate that anosmic sensory loss is often the first sensory loss directly related to Alzheimer's disease."

The awareness of or the smelling of one's own body odor.

1. An unpleasant odor: "A kakosmis is a very bad or a stinking smell."
2. A subjective perception of a disagreeable odor: "Some cacosmias are perceptions of bad odors when they do not really exist."

1. The distortion of normal smelling perceptions.
2. Disorders of the sense of smell.

1. A normal, or good, condition of the sense of smell.
2. A pleasant odor.

A physical disorder of the sense of smell in which the odor perceived is not in accord with the stimulus or whatever is producing it.

An abnormally acute sense of smell or a above normal perception odors.

1. A defect in the sense of smell.
2. An abnormally deficient ability of smelling.
3. A reduced ability to detect and to recognize odors.

A sniff of hope for people with damaged smelling capabilities

• There have been few treatments for the condition of the loss of the sense of smelling.
• There is now hope that a long-established asthma drug may help to restore one's smelling.
• Research has shown that levels of two proteins in the nasal lining, called cAMP and cGMP , are low in people with hyposmia.
• Some people have received various doses of theophylline, a drug used to treat asthma, which is known to inhibit the breakdown of cAMP and cGMP.
• At the end of the treatment, 70 percent of the people with hyposmia had an improved sense of smelling, according to standard tests.
• The improvements disappeared when people stopped taking the drug.
• Hyposmia affects around 20 million people in the U.S. alone.
• It can be started by allergies, viral infections, and head injuries.

1. A condition in which the perception of certain odors is lacking; analogous to color blindness.
2. A partial anosmia, with certain odors not being perceived.
3. A disturbance of olfaction in which the patient claims to be able to smell some odors but not others.

An irrational dread of certain smells: People who suffer from chronic migraines can have olfactophobia believing that it can be prompted by particular odors.

Jim's mother developed osphresiophobia when her son didn't bathe or shower for two weeks and had a very offensive and unpleasant stench!