Chap. VI.] NOSE AND NASAL CAVITIES. 73 



to be associated with emphysema of the subcutaneous 

 tissue, which is greatly increased on blowing the nose. 

 The air in such cases is derived, of course, from the 

 nasal fossae. In fractures of the upper third of the ossa 

 nasi the cribriform plate may be broken, but it is ques- 

 tionable whether this complication can occur when the 

 fracture is limited to the lower third of the bones. The 

 root of the nose is a favourite place for ineniiigoceles 

 and encephaloceles, the protrusion escaping through 

 the suture between the nasal and frontal bones. Such 

 protrusions, when occurring in this place, are often 

 covered by a thin and vascular integument, and have 

 been mistaken for neevoid growths. 



2. The nasal cavities. The anterior nares 

 have somewhat the shape of the heart on a playing- 

 card, and the aperture as a whole measures about 

 1^ inches vertically, and a little less than \\ inches 

 transversely, at its widest part. The plane of the 

 nostril is a little below that of the floor of the nares. 

 To examine the nasal cavities, therefore, the head 

 should be thrown back, and the nose drawn upwards. 

 The anterior nares can be well explored by the finger 

 introduced into the nostril, and the nasal apertures are 

 just so wide on each side of the septum as to allow the 

 finger to be passed far enough back to reach another 

 finger introduced into the posterior nares through the 

 mouth. An effectual way of removing soft polypi in 

 the adult is by tearing them away by the two fingers 

 so introduced. The operation is a little rough. By 

 the most gentle introduction of the finger into the 

 nostril it is often possible to feel the end of the 

 inferior turbiriated bone. The anterior nares, and 

 front of the nasal cavities, can be well explored by 

 Houge's operation. In this procedure the upper lip 

 is everted, and a transverse cut made through the 

 mucous membrane into the soft parts that connect the 

 upper lip with the upper jaw. The incision extends 





