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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo
Published on: October 30, 2014
The Grueneberg ganglion projects to the olfactory bulb
1Biological Imaging Center, Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. dskoid@caltech.edu
Abstract:
The Grueneberg ganglion is a compact cluster of neurons in the rostral nasal vestibule once thought to be a component of the terminal nerve, a non-sensory nerve that does not innervate the olfactory bulb. Its strong expression of olfactory marker protein, a pan-olfactory marker, in mice led us to re-examine this conclusion. Here, we demonstrate that the Grueneberg ganglion projects axons from the nasal vestibule, along the septum, through the cribriform plate and onto the olfactory necklace domain of the olfactory bulbs where it forms glomeruli. Its expression of olfactory marker protein, combined with its direct wiring to the olfactory bulb, strongly suggest that the Grueneberg ganglion is a component of the olfactory pathway.
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