The Nose and Nasal Cavity

• • The nose is the primary pathway for incoming air. The structures of the nose and nasal cavity are specialized for conditioning the air.
• The nose is the primary passageway for air entering the respiratory system
• Air enters the nose through the paired nostrils, or nares
• Nostrils or nares open into the nasal vestibule and the nasal cavity
• The epithelium of the nasal vestibule contains coarse hairs that extend across the external nares
• The nasal septum separates the right and left portions of the nasal cavity
• The anterior portion of the nasal septum is formed by hyaline cartilage
• Cartilaginous plate supports the (bridge) dorsum of the nose and (tip) apex of the nose
• Superior portion, or olfactory region, of nasal cavity consists of areas lined by olfactory epithelium

  • inferior surface of cribriform plate
  • superior nasal conchae of ethmoid
  • superior portion of nasal septum
• Air flows between adjacent conchae and through nasal meatuses as it passes from nasal vestibule to narrow posterior nasal apertures
• A bony hard plate, formed by the maxillae and palatine bones, forms the floor of the nasal cavity and separates the oral and nasal cavities
• A fleshy soft palate extends posterior to the hard palate