main olfactory bulb (MOB)

The term main olfactory bulb (MOB) refers, in the human ( Carpenter-1983 ) and the macaque ( Price-2004 ), to a very small white oval structure located in the cleft between the ventral surface of the frontal lobe (FLB) and the floor of the cranial cavity. In the rat ( Paxinos-2009b ) and mouse ( Franklin-2008 ), it is enormously larger; in the rodent, it extends almost a quarter of the length of the brain (BRN) ( Swanson-2004 ). In all species, it is connected rostrally with the olfactory nerve (1n). Caudally, in the rat ( Swanson-2004 ) and mouse ( Franklin-2008 ), it connects directly through the olfactory tract (oltr) to the olfactory cortex (OTX) and through the olfactory limb of the anterior commissure (aca) to the MOB in the opposite cerebral hemisphere (CHS). The MOB is a layered structure that contains cell bodies of the second-order neurons in the olfactory system (OSY). They include the mitral cell ensemble of the main olfactory bulb (MCEm) and the tufted cell ensemble (TCE) ( Buck-2013 ). Functionally, the MOB plays a roll in oderant feature detection. It is a key structure in the system that mediates the perception of smells ( Buck-2013 ). Final 20 Jan 2025.

Also known as: olfactory bulb, Bulbus olfactorius, olfactory lobe (Barr & Kiernan), bulbus olfactorius (Morgagni), main olfactory bulb, anterior portion of olfactory bulb

NeuroNames ID: 279

All Names & Sources

Showing 19 synonym(s)

Name:

OB

Language:

acronym

Organism:

human

Source:

Mai-1997

Citation:

San Diego: Academic Press, 1997

Source Title:

Atlas of the Human Brain

Name:

MOB

Language:

acronym

Organism:

mouse

Source:

Hof-2000

Citation:

Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000

Source Title:

Comparative Cytoarchitectonic Atlas of the C57BL/6 and 129/Sv Mouse Brains

Name:

benjol penghidu

Language:

Indonesian

Organism:

human

Source:

Noback-1982

Citation:

Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC, 1982

Source Title:

Anatomi Susunan Saraf Manusia, Prinsip-Prinsip Dasar Neurobiologi

Name:

olfactory bulb

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Citation:

Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1983

Source Title:

Human Neuroanatomy

Name:

olfactory bulb

Language:

English

Organism:

rat

Source:

Bowden-1997

Citation:

Source Title:

A digital Rosetta stone for primate brain terminology

Name:

Bulbus olfactorius

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Source:

Nomina-1983

Citation:

Fifth Edition, Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1983

Source Title:

Nomina Anatomica

Name:

Bulbus olfactorius

Language:

Latin

Organism:

Macaca mulatta

Source:

Bonin-1947

Citation:

University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1947

Source Title:

The Neocortex of Macaca Mulatta

Name:

olfactory lobe (Barr & Kiernan)

Language:

English

Organism:

human

Citation:

Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1994

Source Title:

Neuroanatomy And The Neurologic Exam: A Thesaurus of Synonyms, Similar Sounding Non-Synonyms And Terms Of Variable Meaning

Name:

bulbo olfattivo

Language:

Italian

Organism:

human

Citation:

EdiSes, s.r.l.- Napoli, 1995

Source Title:

Fondamenti di Neuroanatomia

Name:

bulbo olfatorio

Language:

Spanish

Organism:

human

Citation:

edicion 4, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore; traducción de Editorial Medica Panamericana, Buenos Aires, efectuada por el Dr. Alejandro Kaufman

Source Title:

Neuroanatomía Fundamentos

Name:

обонятельная луковица

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Citation:

AREA XVII, Moscow, 1996.

Source Title:

Stereoskopicheskii Atlas Mozga Cheloveka

Name:

bulbus penghidu

Language:

Indonesian

Organism:

human

Source:

Noback-1982

Citation:

Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC, 1982

Source Title:

Anatomi Susunan Saraf Manusia, Prinsip-Prinsip Dasar Neurobiologi

Name:

bulbus olfactorius

Language:

Indonesian

Organism:

human

Source:

Noback-1982

Citation:

Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kedokteran EGC, 1982

Source Title:

Anatomi Susunan Saraf Manusia, Prinsip-Prinsip Dasar Neurobiologi

Name:

bulbus olfactorius (Morgagni)

Language:

Latin

Organism:

human

Citation:

VEDI, Moscow, 2005.

Source Title:

Atlas Mozga Cheloveka (Atlas of the Human Brain)

Name:

морганиев узел

Language:

Russian

Organism:

human

Citation:

VEDI, Moscow, 2005.

Source Title:

Atlas Mozga Cheloveka (Atlas of the Human Brain)

Name:

bulbe olfactif

Language:

French

Organism:

human

Citation:

Springer-Verlag, Paris, 1992

Source Title:

Le cerveau humain: Surface, coupes seriees tridimensionnelles et IRM

Name:

main olfactory bulb

Language:

English

Organism:

mouse

Source:

Dong-2004

Citation:

Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 2004

Source Title:

Allen Reference Atlas

Name:

MOB

Language:

acronym

Organism:

rat

Source:

Swanson-2004

Citation:

Third Edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, 2004

Source Title:

Brain Maps: Structure of the Rat Brain.

Name:

anterior portion of olfactory bulb

Language:

English

Organism:

rat

Citation:

Source Title:

Function of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in olfaction

Species With The Structure
Equivalent By Human Macaque Rat Mouse
Topology Has The Structure Has The Structure Has The Structure Has The Structure

Showing 7 record(s)

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Their Name:

Bulbus olfactorius

Source:

Nomina-1983

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Their Name:

bulbus olfactorius (Morgagni)

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Their Name:

olfactory bulb

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Their Name:

olfactory lobe (Barr & Kiernan)

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Their Name:

Bulbus olfactorius

Source:

Bonin-1947

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Rattus (rat)

Their Name:

olfactory bulb

Source:

Bowden-1997

Basis:

Topology

Has Equivalent:

Yes

Organism:

Mus (mouse)

Their Name:

main olfactory bulb

Source:

Dong-2004

Models Where It Appears
Structural CNS Model - Macaque

Brain structures of the macaque are illustrated in BrainInfo’s NeuroMaps macaque brain atlas. Structures are grouped by proximity in a hierarchy corresponding to the central nervous system hierarchy of NeuroNames ( Bowden-1995 Martin-2000 ). Structures in the NeuroMaps atlas are based on the segmentation of an MRI of the brain of a 3-year old male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). The atlas is most useful for targeting structures for implantating electrodes and chemtrodes. Updated 29 Oct 2025.

Functional CNS Model - Rat

The Functional CNS Model - Rat (FMrat) ( Swanson-2004) is one of three hierarchical models representing the internal organization of the central nervous system (CNS). The others are the Structural CNS Model - Human (SThmn) and the Functional CNS Model - Human (FMhmn). The FMrat model represents the basic organization of the mouse ( Hof-2000 AMBA-2024 ) and, presumably, other rodents. Functional CNS models differ from structural models in that structures are defined and named by connectivity rather than by proximity to other structures at the same level. Functional models are more useful for representing longitudinal components of are grouped based on information drawn from multiple neuroscientific disciplines. such as connections, neurochemical characteristics, and role in physiogical and behavioral processes. While the Functional Model was developed primarily for an atlas of the rat brain ( Swanson-2004 ), the hierarchical organization of structures is for the most part applicable to the human, macaque, mouse and other mammalian brains as well. Structures at lower levels of the Functional CNS hierarchy are largely the same as in the Classical and Developmental Models, i.e., they were originally identified by stains for gray matter (Nissl substance) and white matter (myelin). At the next higher level they are grouped into basic connectional and functional systems of the CNS, such as the subcortical sensory systems, the brainstem motor system and the behavioral state system. At the highest levels CNS structures are grouped on the basis of dissection and embryologic precursors into cerebrum ( cerebral cortex and cerebral nuclei ), cerebellum, and cerebrospinal trunk.