olfactory cell

noun

Medical Definition of olfactory cell

: a sensory cell specialized for the reception of sensory stimuli caused by odors specifically : any of the spindle-shaped neurons that are buried in the nasal mucous membrane of vertebrates and that have a round nucleus and two slender processes of which the inner constitutes an olfactory nerve fiber and the short outer one is modified peripherally to form the actual sensory receptor — see olfactory organ