Alan Saldivar is a healthy, active individual in his mid-thirties. One day, he was using a strong solvent to clean up spilled paint in his garage and he felt a stinging sensation in his nose. Later that day, while cooking, he burned his food on the grill because he couldn’t smell that it was burning. He also noticed he could barely taste any of the food he ate. To improve the taste of his food, he tried increasing the amount of salt in his food. After a few days of pain and loss of smell, he went to see an otolaryngologist (Ear/Nose/Throat Doctor). During the examination of Alan’s nose, the doctor reported that Alan’s nasal mucus membranes were found to be inflamed. The doctor told Alan, that his sense of smell should return within two weeks, if due to inflammation, but to return to see her if his sense of smell had not improved after that time. Two weeks later, Alan’s sense of smell still hasn’t returned. Why was Alan’s taste of food affected?