• Thirty-six mucosal specimens were obtained with a biopsy instrument from the upper nasal
septum of 12 human autopsy cases before the en bloc removal of the entire olfactory area.
Examination of these 36 specimens with transmission electron microscopy demonstrated
olfactory epithelium in only 17. A significant negative correlation (r=−. 728) was noted
between the age of the subject and the probability of obtaining olfactory epithelium,
supporting the idea that the olfactory mucosa is gradually replaced by respiratory epithelium …