THE term perfume is used to designate only those volatile emanations of bodies which are usually considered agreeable; while the word odor has a more general signification, and applies to every scent without regard to its nature. The appreciation of odors is due to the impression upon the seat of the sense of smell, of emanations from bodies, or of infinitesimal molecules of their substance which rise from their surfaces, impregnate the surrounding atmosphere, and, during inhalation, are brought into contact with the delicate and extensive membranes of the olfactory organs. The tenuity of these molecules is so great, that the bodies whence they emanate experience no percepti LANE MEDICAL LIBRARY STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER STANFORD, CALIF. 9430 |