warren: so if you lose/cut your nose, then you cannot smell ah?
rephrase: can smell?
actual answer: YES!! [omg shocked]
reason: sense of smell is dependent on olfactory receptors, located at the nasal cavity. if one loses the nose, and the receptors in the nasal cavity is (hopefully) unharmed, then the person still can have the sense of smell, though it'll be a less sensitive sense.
the nose funnels air (and smells) toward receptor neurons,*which sit behind the face and near the front of the brain. You can't really damage this odor-sensing area by slicing off cartilage. More likely, cutting off someone's nose will affect their breathing, which in turn affects their ability to smell. The front of the nose has two main functions: It guides airflow and filters out dust and other large particles. The nostrils direct incoming breaths up and over turbinates located behind the nose. These turbinates secrete moisture to humidify the air before it reaches the receptors. At the same time, particles get stuck in nasal mucus before dripping or getting sneezed out. Without a nose, you'd end up inhaling more dry, dusty air—which makes Saturday's nasal severance especially cruel, given Afghanistan's arid climate.
