title: [The human vomeronasal organ].
abstract: The vomeronasal system in mammals plays an important role in social and reproductive behaviour. Pheromones are airborne chemical signals that are released by an individual into the environment and affects another member of the same species. The human vomeronasal system was commonly regarded as vestigial, but recently new interest is focussed on this chemoreceptor organ, located at the base of the human nasal cavity. Although vomeronasal systems have long been known to exist in all fetal humans, little is known of the growth of this system in adults. We give a summary of the publications to the features, the frequency of occurrence, the ultrastructure, the developmental aspects and the functional significance of the Jacobson's organ in human.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Ulm, Germany. doreen.polzehl@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Polzehl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000502:physiology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones