The external nose is formed of two nasal bones, the pairs of upper and lower alar cartilages and the septal cartilage.
The nasal bones are attached to the frontal and maxillary bones of the face, and with trauma they may fracture and become deviated or depressed.
The alar cartilages are important to the cosmetic appearance and function of the nose. The upper alar cartilages are attached to the under surface of the nasal bone and to the nasal septum. They help the septum to support the dorsum of the nose. The lower cartilages support the nasal tip.
The septum divides the nasal cavity into two. It is formed by the quadrilateral cartilage in front, with attachments to the vertical plate of the ethmoid behind, and to the maxillary spine and vomer below.
The lateral wall of the nose consists of three projecting bony shelves; the superior, middle and inferior turbinates or conchae. The space below each shelf is called a meatus.
The middle meatus recieves the ostia or openings of all the paranasal sinuses with the exception of the sphenoid sinus and the posterior ethmoidal air cells. This ostio-meatal complex is important in the aetiology of sinus disease and is a key area for endoscopic intervention.
The inferior meatus receives the nasolacrimal duct.
Most of the nose is lined with clliated, pseudostratified, columnar epithelium and there are golbet cells and mucus glands distributed throughout the submucosa.
The superior part of the nose is lined with olfactory epithelium which is non-ciliated. It contains bipolar cells which send their axons through the cribriform plate and synapse in the olfactory bulb.
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