最近の嗅覚検査法

RECENT ADVANCES IN OLFACTORY TESTS

　I．はじめに

　嗅覚検査に関しては1800年代よりValentin，Fröhlichら，多くの人々が種々の方法を試みてきた。特に1888年Zwaardemakerはゴム嗅覚計を考案，これを標準嗅覚計と命名，オルファクチーと称する嗅覚単位まで設定した。

　しかし嗅覚の本態が解明されていないという大きな問題が，これら多くの諸先輩の研究を実らせるには至らなかつた。もちろん，現在でもこの問題は解決されておらず，私どもの努力がどこまで実るか疑問視する向きもあるが，現に社会生活の発達とともに悪臭公害，生活上における嗅覚の必要性など，差し迫つた問題に直面している。

　Studies on the sense of smell has been made by various investigators since the beginning of the ninteenth century but no standard method has been reached by any of them.

　Recently, however, a renewed affort has been made in organizing teams for this study and a fairly satisfactory clinical standard has been obtained.

　The author presents the description of the method and the results of the test among 600 cases of anosmia. Fifty eight per cent of these cases showed a positive response to smell when tested by a specific method employing 10 different smelling agent. This number may be further reduced to 20% when the agents are introduced by intravenous method or by special insufflation. It is also possible to reveal the degree in which the patient may be suffering in reaching the final diagnosis.