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Nasal cavity

The nasal cavity is the air-filled compartment above the palate, bordered by skeletal structures and cartilages, and covered from inside by mucosa. This page reviews the nasal cavity in a narrow osteology sense, i.e., as the cavity bordered by skeletal structures.

Nasal cavity. Pyriform opening — The frontal aspect of the skull demonstrating the anterior opening of the nasal cavity — the piriform aperture.

The list of terms:
Apertura piriformis – Piriform aperture
Incisura nasalis maxillae – Nasal notch of maxilla
Processus frontalis maxillae – Frontal process of maxilla
Os nasale – Nasal bone
Spina nasalis anterior – Anterior nasal spine

The paramedian cut of the skull to demonstrate parts of the nasal cavity — The following two illustrations depicting the nasal cavity's lateral and medial walls are made by the sagittal cut of the skull passing through the left common nasal meatus.

Nasal septum demonstrated by sagittal cut of the skull with the terminology comment — The parasagittal cut of the skull, demonstrating the bones of the nasal septum relative to other walls of the nasal cavity. The perpendicular plate of ethmoid and vomer is the primary but not sole bony components of the nasal cavity's medial wall.

The list of terms:
Septum nasi osseum – Bony nasal septum
Os nasale – Nasal bone
Spina nasalis ossis frontalis – Nasal spine of frontal bone
Lamina perpendicularis ossis ethmoidalis – Perpendicular plate of ethmoid bone
Rostrum sphenoidale – Sphenoidal rostrum
Vomer
Crista nasalis – Nasal crest
Lamina cribrosa – Cribriform plate
Sinus sphenoidalis – Sphenoid sinus
Canalis incisivus – Incisive canal
Spina nasalis anterior – Anterior nasal spine
Spina nasalis posterior – Posterior nasal spine

Lateral wall of the nasal cavity with the latin terminology comment — She skull's parasagittal cut exposes the most structurally complex part of the nasal cavity—the lateral wall. The sphenoid sinus opens into the nasal cavity above the upper nasal concha — into the sphenoethmoid recess. And the pterygopalatine fossa communicates with the nasal cavity via the sphenopalatine foramen. The latter one localizes dorsally to the middle nasal concha.

The list of terms:
Os ethmoidale – Ethmoid bone
Concha nasalis superior – Superior nasal concha
Concha nasalis media – Middle nasal concha
Concha nasalis inferior – Inferior nasal concha
Recessus sphenoethmoidalis – Sphenoethmoidal recess
Apertura sinus sphenoidalis – Aperture of sphenoidal sinus
Sinus sphenoidalis – Sphenoidal sinus
Lamina cribrosa – Cribriform plate
Os nasale – Nasal bone
Facies nasalis maxillae – Nasal surface of maxilla
Os lacrimale – Lacrimal bone
Sinus maxillaris – Maxillary sinus
Canalis incisivus – Incisive canal
Processus palatinus maxillae – Palatine process of maxilla
Lamina horizontalis ossis palatini – Horizontal plate of palatine bone
Lamina perpendicularis ossis palatini – Perpendicular plate of palatine bone
Lamina medialis processus pterygoidei – Medial pterygoid plate
Foramen sphenopalatinum – Sphenopalatine foramen
Sinus frontalis – Frontal sinus

Skull cut showing nasal cavity with the nasal septum with latin terminology comment — The combined coronal and sagittal cut of the skull demonstrating the topography of ethmoid bone within the nasal cavity relative to the maxillary sinus and the nasal septum.

The list of terms:
Septum nasi osseum – Bony nasal septum
Sulcus vomeris
Foramina cribrosa – Cribriform foramina
Cellulae ethmoidales posteriores (labyrinthus ethmoidalis) – Posterior ethmoidal cells (ethmoidal labyrinth)
Lamina orbitalis (papyracea) ossis ethmoidalis – Orbital plate (lamina papyracea) of ethmoid bone
Concha nasalis media ossis ethmoidalis – Middle nasal concha of ethmoid
Sinus maxillaris – Maxillary sinus
Lamina perpendicularis ossis palatini – Perpendicular plate of the palatine bone
Lamina horizontalis ossis palatini – Horizontal plate of palatine bone
Processus palatinus maxillae – Palatine process of the maxilla
Processus uncinatus ossis ethmoidalis – Uncinate process of ethmoid bone
Sinus frontalis – Frontal sinus

Latin terms the skull cut demonstrating lateral wall of the nasal cavity — Another combined cut of the skull, exposing the lateral wall of the nasal cavity—the wall where multiple compartments open in a tricky way:
Under the inferior nasal concha opens the nasolacrimal canal

Under the middle concha opens the maxillary sinus and, just above the ethmoidal bulla—the hiatus semilunaris. In its turn, the hiatus semilunaris communicates with the middle and anterior ethmoidal cells that directly connects to the frontal sinus.

Finally, under the upper concha opens the posterior ethmoid cells.

The list of terms:
Lamina cribrosa – Bony nasal septum
Bulla ethmoidalis
Processus uncinatus ossis ethmoidalis – Uncinate process of ethmoid bone
Sinus frontalis – Frontal sinus
Processus frontalis maxillae – Frontal process of maxilla
Os lacrimale – Lacrimal bone
Processus lacrimalis conchae nasalis inferioris – Lacrimal process of inferior nasal concha
Processus ethmoidalis conchae nasalis inferioris – Ethmoidal process of inferior nasal concha
Os palatinum – Palatine bone
Processus pterygoideus sphenoidalis – Pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone
Septum nasi osseum – Bony nasal septum
Sinus maxillaris – Maxillary sinus

Coronal cut of the skull with the latin terminology comment — The skull's coronal cut shows how nasal conchas split the airflow through the nasal cavity into the compartments: the upper, middle, and lower meatus in proximity to the nasal septum fuses into the one common nasal meatus.

The list of terms:
Orbita – Orbit
Sinus maxillaris – Maxillary sinus
Labyrinthus ethmoidalis – Ethmoidal labyrinth
Lamina cribrosa – Cribriform plate
Cribrae ethmoidales – Cribriform foramena
Palatum osseum – Bony (hard) palate
Septum nasi osseum – Bony nasal septum
Concha nasalis superior – Superior nasal concha
Concha nasalis media – Middle nasal concha
Concha nasalis inferior – Inferior nasal concha
Meatus nasi superior – Superior nasal meatus
Meatus nasi medius – Middle nasal meatus
Meatus nasi inferior – Inferior nasal meatus
Meatus nasi communis – Common nasal meatus
Recessus sphenoethmoidalis – Sphenoethmoidal recess
Apertura sinus sphenoidalis – Aperture of sphenoidal sinus

The clip demonstrates multiple sections of the skull done through the nasal cavity.

First published: Feb/2020
Last update: 17/Nov/2020