The semilunar hiatus (eg, hiatus semilunaris) is a crescent-shaped/semicircular/ curved slit/groove upon the lateral wall of 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 nas ...

at the

middle nasal meatus In anatomy, the term nasal meatus can refer to any of the three meatuses (passages) through the skulls nasal cavity: the superior meatus (''meatus nasi superior''), middle meatus (''meatus nasi medius''), and inferior meatus (''meatus nasi infer ...

just inferior to the ethmoidal bulla. It is the location of the openings for the

frontal sinus The frontal sinuses are one of the four pairs of paranasal sinuses that are situated behind the brow ridges. Sinuses are mucosa-lined airspaces within the bones of the face and skull. Each opens into the anterior part of the corresponding middle ...

maxillary sinus The pyramid-shaped maxillary sinus (or antrum of Nathaniel Highmore (surgeon), Highmore) is the largest of the paranasal sinuses, located in the maxilla. It drains into the middle meatus of the noseHuman Anatomy, Jacobs, Elsevier, 2008, page 209- ...

, and anterior ethmoidal sinus. It is bounded inferiorly and anteriorly by the sharp concave margin of the uncinate process of the

ethmoid bone The ethmoid bone (; from ) is an unpaired bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. It is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits. The cubical (cube-shaped) bone is lightweight due to a spongy constructi ...

, superiorly by the ethmoidal bulla, and posteriorly by the ethmoidal process of the

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

. It leads into the

ethmoidal infundibulum The ethmoidal infundibulum is a funnel-shaped/slit-like/curved opening/passage/space/cleft upon the anterosuperior portion of the middle nasal meatus (and thus of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity) at the hiatus semilunaris (which represents the ...

; it marks the medial limit of the

References

External links

* {{Authority control Nose Rhinology