Meeting Abstract
4.4 Friday, Jan. 4 Reconstructing Respiration and Olfaction in the Mammalian Nasal Cavity CRAVEN, B.A.*; RICHTER, J.P.; RUMPLE, C.R.; QUIGLEY, A.P.; RANSLOW, A.N.; NEUBERGER, T.; KRANE, M.H.; YEE, K.K.; WYSOCKI, C.J.; VAN VALKENBURGH, B.; Penn State University; Penn State University; Penn State University; Penn State University; Penn State University; Penn State University; Penn State University; Monell Chemical Senses Center; Monell Chemical Senses Center; University of California, Los Angeles craven@psu.edu
The mammalian nasal cavity is a multi-purpose organ that houses a convoluted airway labyrinth responsible for respiratory air conditioning, filtering of environmental contaminants, and chemical sensing. Because of the complexity of the nasal cavity, the anatomy and function of these upper airways remain poorly understood in most mammals. However, recent advances in medical imaging, experimental and computational methods, and histological techniques are now permitting examination of interspecies differences in nasal anatomy and the resulting functional implications regarding respiration and olfaction. This presentation will highlight the research being carried out by our multidisciplinary team to better understand the form and function of the nose in different mammalian species that include terrestrial and semi-aquatic carnivorans (coyote, bobcat, sea otter), ungulates (white-tailed deer), and rodents (gray squirrel). Specifically, modern high-resolution medical imaging modalities are being combined with histological data to generate three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of the mammalian nose, which are used in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of nasal airflow, respiratory heat and moisture exchange, and odorant mass transport. State-of-the-art flow measurement experiments in transparent physical models are being used to validate the computational simulations. An overview of our approach, techniques, and results to date will be presented. Supported by NSF grants IOS-1120375 (to BAC and MHK), IOS-1118852 (to CJW), NSF IOB-0517748 (to BVV), and NSF IOS-1119768 (to BVV).
