olfaction

n. sense of smell; act of smelling

Olfaction (also known as olfactics) refers to the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertbrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates. For air-breathing animals, the olfactory system detects volatile or, in the case of the accessory olfactory system, fluid-phase chemicals. For water-dwelling organisms, e.g., fishes or crustaceans, the chemicals are present in the surrounding aqueous medium. Olfaction, along with taste, is a form of chemoreception. The chemicals themselves which activate the olfactory system, generally at very low concentrations, are called odors.
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Olfaction /ol·fac·tion/ 1. smell ; the ability to perceive and distinguish odors. 2. the act of perceiving and distinguishing odors. ol·fac·tion n. [more]Olfaction - Community and Resources

Noun
1. the faculty of smell
(synonym) smell, sense of smell, olfactory modality
(hypernym) modality, sense modality, sensory system
(hyponym) nose

n. olfaction, sense of smell; act of smelling