bones (see fig. 2). Above the superior turbinated is a space between it and the roof known as the "recessus spheno-ethmoidalis," into the back of which the "spheroidal air sinus" opens. Between the superior and middle turbinated bones is the "superior meatus," containing the openings of the "posterior ethmoidal air cells," while between the middle and inferior turbinateds is the "middle meatus," which is the largest of the three and contains a rounded elevation known as the "bulla ethmoidahs." Above and behind this is often an opening for the "middle ethmoidal cells," while below and in front a deep sickle-shaped gutter runs, the "hiatus semilunaris," which communicates above with the "frontal air sinus" and below with the opening into the "antrum of Highmore" or "maxillary antrum." So deep is this hiatus semilunaris that if, in the dead subject, water is poured into the frontal sinus it all passes into the
From R. Howden, in Cunningham's Text-Book of Anatomy. Fig. 2.—View of the Outer Wall of the Nose—the Turbinated Bones having been removed.
1. Vestibule.
2. Opening of antrum of Highmore.
3. Hiatus semilunaris.
4. Bulla ethmoidalis.
5. Agger nasi.
6. Opening of anterior ethmoidal cells.
7. Cut edge of superior turbinated bone.
8. Cut edge of middle turbinated bone.
9. Pharyngeal orifice of Eustachian tube.
antrum and none escapes through the nostrils until that cavity is full. The passage from the frontal sinus to the hiatus semilunaris is known as the "infundibulum," and into this open the "anterior ethmoidal cells," so that the antrum acts as a sink for the secretion of these cells and of the frontal sinus. Running downward and forward from the front of the middle turbinated bone is a curved ridge known as the "agger nasi," which forms the anterior boundary of a slightly depressed area called the "atrium."
The "inferior meatus" is below the inferior turbinated bone, and, when that is lifted up, the valvular opening of the nasal duct (see Eye) is seen. In front of the inferior meatus there is a depression just above the nostril which is lined with skin instead of mucous membrane and from which short hairs grow; this is called the "vestibule." The roof of the nose is very narrow, and here the olfactory nerves pass in through the cribriform plate. The floor is a good deal wider so that a coronal section through each nasal cavity has roughly the appearance of a right angled triangle. The anterior wall is formed by the nasal bones and the upper and lower lateral cartilages, while posteriorly the spheroidal turbinated bone separates the nasal cavity from the spheroidal sinus above, and below there is an opening into the naso-pharynx known as the "posterior nasal aperture" or "choana." The mucous membrane of the outer wall is characteristic of the respiratory tract as high as the superior turbinated bone; it is ciliated all over and very vascular where it covers the inferior turbinated; superficial to and above the superior turbinated the olfactory tract is reached and the specialized olfactory epithelium begins.
Embryology.
In the third week of intra-uterine life two pits make their appearance on the under side of the front of the head, and are known as the olfactory or nasal pits; they are the first appearance of the true olfactory region of the nose, and some of their epithelial lining cells send off axons (see Nervous System) which arborize with the dendrites of the cells of the olfactory lobe of the brain and so form the olfactory nerves (see J. Disse, Anat. Hefte, 1897; also P. Anat. Soc., J. Anat. and Phys., 1897, p. 12). Between the olfactory pits the broad median fronto-nasal process grows down from the forehead region to form the dorsum of the nose (see fig. 3), and the anterior part of the nasal septum, while outside them the lateral nasal processes grow down, and later on meet the maxillary processes from the first visceral arch. In this way the nasal cavities are formed, but for some time they are separated from the mouth by a thin bucconasal membrane which eventually is broken through; after this the mouth and nose are one cavity until the formation of the palate in the third month (see Mouth and Salivary Glands). In the third month Jacobson's organ may be seen as a well marked tube lined with respiratory mucous membrane and running upward and backward, close to the septum, from its orifice, which is just above the foramen of Stensen in the anterior palatine canal. In man it never has any connexion with the olfactory membrane or olfactory nerves. Internally and below it is surrounded by a delicate sheet of cartilage, which is distinct from that of the nasal septum. No explanation of the function of Jacobson's organ in man is known, and it is probably entirely atavistic. At birth the nasal cavities are very shallow from above downward, but they rapidly deepen till the age of puberty. The external nose at birth projects very little from the plane of the face except at the tip, the button-like shape of which in babies is well known. In the second and third year the bridge becomes more prominent, but after puberty the nasal bones tend to tilt upward at their lower ends to form the eminence which is seen at its best in the Roman nose. (For further details see Quain's Anatomy, vol. i., London, 1908.)
Comparative Anatomy.
In Amphioxus among the Acrania there is a ciliated pit above the anterior end of the central nervous system, which is probably a rudiment of an unpaired olfactory organ. In the Cyclostomata (lampreys and hags) the pit is at first ventral, but later becomes dorsal and shares a common opening with the pituitary invagination. It furthermore becomes divided internally into two lateral halves. In fishes there are also two lateral pits, the nostrils of which open sometimes, as in the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), on to the ventral surface of the snout, and sometimes, as in the higher fishes, on to the dorsal surface. Up to this stage the olfactory organs are mere pits, but in the Dipnoi (mud-fish) an opening is established from them into the front of the roof of the mouth, and so they serve as respiratory passages as well as organs for the sense of smell. In the higher Amphibia the nasal organ becomes included in the skull and respiratory and olfactory parts are distinguished. In this class, too, turbinal in growths are found, and the naso-lachrymal duct appears. In the lizards, among the Reptilia, the olfactory and respiratory parts are very distinct, the latter being lined only by stratified epithelium unconnected with the olfactory nerves. There is one true turbinal bone growing from the outer wall, and close to this is a large nasal gland. In crocodiles the hard palate is formed, and there is henceforward a considerable distance between the openings of the external and internal nares. In this order, too (Crocodilia)
