Nasal Cavity Flashcards

Explore the nasal cavity's boundaries, septum, conchae, meatuses, mucosal regions, sinus drainage, blood supply, and innervation.

Card 1 of 30Question

What is the nasal cavity?

A paired air passage within the facial skeleton extending from the nasal vestibules to the choanae.

In This Section

1. What is the nasal cavity?

A paired air passage within the facial skeleton extending from the nasal vestibules to the choanae.

2. What structure divides the nasal cavity into right and left compartments?

The nasal septum.

3. What are the three main skeletal components of the nasal septum?

The perpendicular plate of the ethmoid, vomer, and septal cartilage.

4. Which bones form the floor of the nasal cavity?

The palatine processes of the maxillae and horizontal plates of the palatine bones.

5. Which structures form the roof of the nasal cavity?

The nasal and frontal bones anteriorly, cribriform plate centrally, and sphenoid bone posteriorly.

6. What forms the medial wall of each nasal cavity?

The nasal septum, covered by mucous membrane.

7. Which major bones contribute to the lateral wall of the nasal cavity?

The maxilla, ethmoid, inferior nasal concha, palatine, lacrimal, and sphenoid bones.

8. What are the three principal nasal conchae?

The superior, middle, and inferior nasal conchae.

9. Which nasal concha is an independent facial bone?

The inferior nasal concha.

10. What is a nasal meatus?

An air passage located inferior to a corresponding nasal concha.

11. Where does the nasolacrimal duct open?

Into the inferior nasal meatus.

12. Which paranasal sinuses drain into the middle nasal meatus?

The frontal, maxillary, and anterior and middle ethmoidal sinuses.

13. Where do the posterior ethmoidal air cells drain?

Into the superior nasal meatus.

14. Where does the sphenoidal sinus open into the nasal cavity?

The sphenoethmoidal recess, superior and posterior to the superior nasal concha.

15. What is the semilunar hiatus?

A curved cleft in the middle nasal meatus between the ethmoidal bulla and uncinate process.

16. What is the ethmoidal bulla?

A rounded elevation on the lateral nasal wall produced by the underlying middle ethmoidal air cells.

17. What is the sphenoethmoidal recess?

A small space above and behind the superior nasal concha that receives sphenoidal sinus drainage.

18. What are the two principal functional regions of the nasal mucosa?

The respiratory region and the olfactory region.

19. What type of epithelium lines most of the respiratory region?

Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium containing goblet cells.

20. Where is the olfactory mucosa primarily located?

Along the nasal roof, superior nasal concha, and adjacent superior portion of the nasal septum.

21. Which three principal cell types occur in the olfactory epithelium?

Olfactory receptor neurons, supporting cells, and basal cells.

22. Through which structure do olfactory nerve fibers reach the olfactory bulb?

The foramina of the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone.

23. Which nerves provide general sensory innervation to the nasal cavity?

Branches of the ophthalmic (V1) and maxillary (V2) divisions of the trigeminal nerve.

24. Which nerve provides sensory innervation to much of the posteroinferior nasal septum?

The nasopalatine nerve, a branch of the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve.

25. Which artery is a major source of blood supply to the posterior nasal cavity?

The sphenopalatine artery, a terminal branch of the maxillary artery.

26. What is Kiesselbach's plexus?

An arterial anastomotic network in Little's area of the anteroinferior nasal septum.

27. Where does venous blood from the nasal cavity drain?

Into facial, ophthalmic, and pterygoid venous pathways.

28. What are the main lymphatic drainage pathways of the nasal cavity?

Anterior regions drain mainly to submandibular nodes, while posterior regions drain to retropharyngeal and upper deep cervical nodes.

29. What are the choanae?

The paired posterior nasal apertures connecting the nasal cavities with the nasopharynx.

30. What is the clinical significance of a cribriform plate fracture?

It may disrupt olfactory nerve fibers and tear the meninges, causing anosmia and cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea.