1406 



HUMAN ANATOMY. 



Fig. 1172. 



Upper lateral 

 cartilage 



Small alar 

 cartilage 



Lower lateral 

 cartilage 



Nasal 

 aperture 



Cartilage 

 at tip 



Nasal bone 



Septal 

 cartilage 



Lower lateral 

 cartilage 



Mesial crus of 

 lower lateral 

 cartilage 



The lower lateral cartilages (cartilagines alares majores) (Fig. 1172) area 

 pair of thin curved plates that encircle the apertures of the nostrils anteriorly and 

 constitute the framework of the tip of the nose. Each cartilage consists of an iruier , 



plate {zxM's, mediale). from 6—7 mm. 

 broad, which, with its fellow of 

 the opposite side, embraces th6 

 lower and anterior part of the 

 septal cartilage and aids in com- 

 pleting the partition separating 

 the nares. In front it narrows, 

 bends sharply outward, and passes 

 more or less abruptly into a 

 hvo3.der outer plate (crus laterale), 

 which is of very uncertain form 

 and size, although of a general 

 elongated oval shape and some 

 12 mm. broad. The triangular 

 space between the varyingly 

 prolonged posterior end of the 

 lateral plate, the maxilla and the 

 upper lateral cartilage is filled 

 out by fibrous tissue in which 

 are embedded two, three or 

 moi'e small cartilaginous pieces 

 (cartilagines alares minores). These vary greatly in size and form, but in a general 

 way tend to complete the ring of cartilage surrounding the lateral wall of the 

 nares. They do not, however, reach the lower border of the nasal ring, which, 

 as well as the remaining part of the lower boundary of the aperture of the nostril, 

 is devoid of cartilage and composed of integument and fatty connective tissue. 

 The rounded anterior angles of the lower lateral cartilages occupy the tip of the 

 nose, close together when this is pointed, but separated by a space that shows 

 externally as a more or less evident groove when the tip of the nose is blunt 

 and broad. The median plates approach the septal cartilage closer in front than 

 behind, where they curve outward to end in a rounded and upward curving hook. 

 The fibrous tissue uniting the median borders of the lower lateral plates with the 

 anterior edge of the septal cartilage usually contains two small sesamoid cartilages 

 (cartilagines sesamoideae nasi ) that partly fill the triangular intervals on either side of 

 the median line. 



The vomerine cartilages (cartilagines vomeronasales) are two narrow strips, 

 from 1-2 mm. wide and from 10-15 "''"''• lo"g' that lie, one on either side, along the 

 lower border of the septal cartilage 



Bony and cartilaginou 



> iiaiiitwdi K 



01 nose, front aspect. 



in the vicinity of the nasal crest 

 They are attached to the carti- 

 lage and bone by fibrous tissue 

 and situated beneath the mucous 

 membrane lining the nasal fossae. 

 Their chief interest is their rela- 

 tion to the rudimentary organ 

 of Jacobson (page 141 7) below 

 which they lie. In animals in 

 which the organs are well devel- 

 oped these cartilages form protect- 

 ing and supporting scrolls ; in 

 man, however, both organ and 

 cartilage are so feebly developed 

 that they loose their close relation. 



Fig. 1 173 



Lower lateral 

 cartilage 



Upper lateral 

 cartilage 



Small alar 

 cartilage 



Cartilage of tip 



Lateral crusjof^'ower 



cartilage 



esial crus 



Nasal aperture 

 Septal cartilage 



Cartilages of nose, viewed from below. 



The integument covering the outer nose is in general thin and closely bound 

 down to the underlying fibrous tissue, being particularly unyielding over the tip and 

 alae. With the exception of within the alae and lateral borders of the nostrils, the 



