Taste and Smell in Disease

A RECENT report to the National Advisory Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke Council (1979) estimated that approximately 2 million American adults have disorders of taste and smell. For 1975 and 1976 combined, a chemosensory problem was the major presenting symptom in approximately 435,000 visits to a physician's office.1 In spite of the prevalence of chemosensory dysfunctions, medical textbooks provide little information on how to evaluate or treat them. Chronic disorders of taste and smell have been largely neglected because they are seldom fatal and, unlike deficiencies in sight or hearing, are not considered serious handicaps. In addition, they are . . .