Anterior nares are the external (or "proper") portion of the nose. The anterior nares open into the nasal cavity and allow the inhalation and exhalation of air. Each is an oval opening that measures about 1.5 cm anteroposteriorly and about 1 cm in diameter.
Common infections
The anterior nares are commonly infected by ''
Staphylococcus aureus
''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posi ...
'' (also known as "golden staph") which may contribute to dermatitic
skin lesion
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this ...
s in patients with
atopic dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as atopic eczema, is a long-term type of inflammation of the skin. Atopic dermatitis is also often called simply eczema but the same term is also used to refer to dermatitis, the larger group of skin conditi ...
. The anterior nares can act as a colonizing point from which the infection can spread.
[http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/2452 and ] This can be particularly troublesome if the strain is an antibiotic-resistant (
commonly MRSA or ORSA) strain. MRSA (first discovered in the UK in 1961) has become particularly widespread in hospitals and is commonly considered a
super bug.
See also
*
Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty (, nose + , to shape), commonly called nose job, medically called nasal reconstruction, is a plastic surgery procedure for altering and reconstructing the human nose, nose. There are two types of plastic surgery used – plastic sur ...
(plastic surgery of the nose)
References
Nose
{{respiratory-stub