The superior nasal concha is a small, curved plate of bone representing a medial bony process of the
labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
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 ...
. The superior nasal concha forms the roof of the
superior nasal meatus.
Anatomy
Anatomical relations
The superior nasal concha is situated posterosuperiorly to the
middle nasal concha
The medial surface of the labyrinth of ethmoid consists of a thin lamella, which descends from the under surface of the cribriform plate, and ends below in a free, convoluted margin, the middle nasal concha (middle nasal turbinate).
It is rough, ...
. It forms the superior boundary of the
superior nasal meatus. Superior to the superior nasal concha is the
sphenoethmoidal recess where the
sphenoid sinus
The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus in the body of the sphenoid bone. It is one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, page 64 The two sphenoid sinuse ...
communicates with 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 ...
; the
sphenoethmoidal recess is interposed between the superior nasal concha, and (the anterior aspect of) the
body of sphenoid bone
The body of the sphenoid bone, more or less cubical in shape, is hollowed out in its interior to form two large cavities, the sphenoidal sinuses, which are separated from each other by a septum.
Superior surface
The superior surface of the body ...
.
The
sphenoid sinus
The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus in the body of the sphenoid bone. It is one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, page 64 The two sphenoid sinuse ...
ostium exists medial to the superior turbinate.
See also
*
Nasal concha
In anatomy, a nasal concha (; : conchae; ; Latin for 'shell'), also called a nasal turbinate or turbinal, is a long, narrow, curled shelf of bone tissue, bone that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose in humans and various other anim ...
Additional images
File:Gray152.png, Ethmoid bone from the right side.
File:Gray191.png, Horizontal section of nasal and orbital cavities.
File:Gray196.png, Roof, floor, and lateral wall of left nasal cavity.
File:Gray859.png, Coronal section of nasal cavities.
File:Nasenmuscheln1.JPG, Nasal conchae
References
External links
*
upstate.edu - Frontal* - lateral
* - coronal
Bones of the head and neck
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