anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

, the term nasal meatus can refer to any of the three

meatus In anatomy, a meatus (, ),'' OED'' 2nd edition, 1989, as . plural "meatus" or "meatuses",

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. The nasal c ...

: the superior meatus (''meatus nasi superior''), middle meatus (''meatus nasi medius''), and inferior meatus (''meatus nasi inferior''). The nasal meatuses are located beneath each of the corresponding

nasal conchae In anatomy, a nasal concha (), plural conchae (), also called a nasal turbinate or turbinal, is a long, narrow, curled shelf of bone that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose in humans and various animals. The conchae are shaped like ...

. In the case where a fourth, supreme nasal concha is present, there is a fourth supreme nasal meatus.

Structure

The superior meatus is the smallest of the three. It is a narrow cavity located obliquely below the superior concha. This meatus is short, lies above and extends from the middle part of the middle concha below. From behind, the

sphenopalatine foramen The sphenopalatine foramen is a Foramina of the skull, foramen in the skull that connects the nasal cavity with the pterygopalatine fossa. Structure The processes of the superior border of the palatine bone are separated by the ''sphenopalatine no ...

opens into the cavity of the superior meatus and the meatus communicates with the posterior

ethmoidal cell The ethmoid sinuses or ethmoid air cells of the ethmoid bone are one of the four paired paranasal sinuses. The cells are variable in both size and number in the lateral mass of each of the ethmoid bones and cannot be palpated during an extraoral ...

s. Above and at the back of the superior concha is the

sphenoethmoidal recess The sphenoethmoidal recess is a small space in the nasal cavity into which the sphenoidal sinus The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus occurring within the within the body of the sphenoid bone. It represents one pair of the four paired pa ...

which the

sphenoidal sinus The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus occurring within the within the body of the sphenoid bone. It represents one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, ...

opens into. The superior meatus occupies the middle third of the nasal cavity’s lateral wall. The middle meatus is the middle-sized and located nasal opening, lying underneath the middle concha and above the

inferior concha The inferior nasal concha (inferior turbinated bone or inferior turbinal/turbinate) is one of the three paired nasal conchae in the nose. It extends horizontally along the lateral wall of the nasal cavity and consists of a lamina of spongy bone, c ...

where the meatus extends along its length. On it is a curved fissure, the

hiatus semilunaris The semilunar hiatus or hiatus semilunaris, is a crescent-shaped groove in the lateral wall of the nasal cavity just inferior to the ethmoid bulla. It is the location of the openings of the maxillary sinuses. It is bounded inferiorly and anterior ...

, limited below by the edge of the

uncinate process of the ethmoid In the ethmoid bone, a sickle shaped projection, the uncinate process, projects posteroinferiorly from the ethmoid labyrinth. Between the posterior edge of this process and the anterior surface of the ethmoid bulla, there is a two-dimensional sp ...

and above by an elevation named the

bulla ethmoidalis The ethmoid bulla (or ethmoidal bulla) is an elevation on the lateral wall of the middle meatus of the nose. It is produced by middle ethmoidal cells. It develops during the first trimester of gestation, and varies significantly based on the size ...

; the middle

ethmoidal cells The ethmoid sinuses or ethmoid air cells of the ethmoid bone are one of the four paired paranasal sinuses. The cells are variable in both size and number in the lateral mass of each of the ethmoid bones and cannot be palpated during an extraoral ...

are contained within this bulla and open on or near to it. Through the hiatus semilunaris the meatus communicates with a curved passage termed the

infundibulum An infundibulum (Latin for ''funnel''; plural, ''infundibula'') is a funnel-shaped cavity or organ. Anatomy * Brain: the pituitary stalk, also known as the ''infundibulum'' and ''infundibular stalk'', is the connection between the hypothalamus an ...

, which communicates in front with the anterior ethmoidal cells and in rather more than fifty percent of skulls is continued upward as the frontonasal duct into the frontal air-sinus; when this continuity fails, the frontonasal duct opens directly into the anterior part of the meatus. Below the bulla ethmoidalis and hidden by the uncinate process of the ethmoid is the opening of the

maxillary sinus The pyramid-shaped maxillary sinus (or antrum of Highmore) is the largest of the paranasal sinuses, and drains into the middle meatus of the nose through the osteomeatal complex.Human Anatomy, Jacobs, Elsevier, 2008, page 209-210 Structure It is ...

(ostium maxillare); an accessory opening is frequently present above the posterior part of the inferior nasal concha. The inferior meatus is the largest of the three. It lies below the inferior concha and above the nasal cavity. It extends most of the length of the nasal cavity’s lateral wall. It is broader in the front than at the back, and presents anteriorly the lower orifice of the nasolacrimal canal.

References

External links

* * — Coronal section {{Authority control Nose