A reduction in olfactory receptors, loss of blood flow, and thick nasal mucus can also cause an impaired sense of smell.

At the front part of the cribriform plate, on either side of the crista galli, is a small fissure that is occupied by a process of dura mater.

A fractured cribriform plate (anterior skull trauma) can result in leaking of cerebrospinal fluid into the nose and loss of sense of smell.

This surface initially becomes the site of proliferation of the trophozoites of Naegleria fowleri and their subsequent spread to the rest of the brain and CSF.

Because of its initial involvement and trophozoite presence in early phases of Naegleria fowleri infection, flushing of this region with saline using a device, to obtain Naegleria fowleri for diagnostic PCR and microscopic viewing, has been proposed for patients affected by naegleriasis, by (Baig AM., et al.) in a recent publication.

[5] Researchers have suggested the same route to administer drugs at an early phase of infection by using a "Transcribrial Device"[6] that has been proposed to kill this pathogen at the place of its maximum proliferation.

In 2017 the inventor of this device suggested that after slight modifications this method could be effective in delivery of stem cells to the brain as well.

[7] A recent Australian study has shown that the bacterium causing the tropical disease melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, can also invade the brain via the olfactory nerve within 24 h by traversing the cribriform plate.