Structure
The nasal septal cartilage is a four-sided plate of cartilage found on the median plane that separates the anterior nasal cavity and external nose into right and left halves. As such, the cartilage forms the anterior portion of the medial wall of the nose, and a transition from the external nose to the nasal cavity.
Anatomical Relations
The nasal septal cartilage forms the anterior medial wall of the nose. It articulates with both nasal cartilages (lateral and major alar) and nasal skeleton. Posterosuperiorly, the nasal septal cartilage attaches to the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone and, posteroinferiorly, with the vomer. These together form the cartilaginous and bony nasal septum, the entire medial wall of the nose. Inferiorly, the nasal septal cartilage articulates with the most anterior portion of the palatine processes of the maxilla. Anteroinferiorly, it contacts the recurrent, medial crus, of the major alar cartilage where it becomes part of the medial nares. The anterosuperior portion articulates with the lateral nasal cartilage.
Function
The nasal septal cartilage completes the separation between the nasal cavities and is a very important contributor to the structural stability of the nose.
List of Clinical Correlates
—Deviated nasal septum
—Rhinoplasty
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Cartilage
Cartilage tissue is made up of small numbers of relatively isolated cells placed within an extensive extracellular matrix made up of collagens and proteoglycan (PG).
