In article <19990725205613.06206.00001365 at ng-fu1.aol.com>,
holson1000 at aol.com (Howard Olson) wrote:
> >Does anyone know if reconstruction of the nasal pathways (a nose job) would
> >typically damage or destroy the Vomeronasal Organ (VNO)?
> >
> >Thanks.
>> It would obviously depend on the extent of the surgery. But the real problem
> is the fact that many medical experts did not believe in a human VNO until it
> was proven
> that humans did have pheromones like the axillary androgens. Hope that
> helps.....
>>
One question I've had, which come from something I picked up in a comparative
anatomy class, is whether humans have cranial nerve O (aka the terminal
nerve). I think, if memory serves me correctly, the terminal nerve is
developed in elasmobranchs but that there is controversy over whether such a
cranial nerve exists in mammals or humans especially. This might fit in with
the VNO / pheromone issue. I've had a literature search on menstrual synchony
on the backburner, so I should motivate myself to explore this interesting
issue (ie- pheromones and human physiology/behavior).
The terminal nerve question really eats at me though, since I'm interested in
things that are conserved in evolution (ie- homologies). Do we share this
cranial nerve O feature with our elasmobranchian fellow vertebrates or has
our "lineage" (sic) abandoned this.
--
Scott Chase
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