Symposium. ENT for nonspecialists. The nose: structure and function.

The structural relationships of the upper lateral cartilage and the septum form an important anatomic area called the liminal valve, one of three known paired valves of the nose. A small deformity in the region of the liminal valve may cause significant airway obstruction that usually can be relieved by surgery. Eighty percent of the population has alternating congestion and decongestion of the nasal turbinates, a phenomenon know as the nasal cycle. The exact function of this cycle is unknown, although it probably allows the two nasal chambers to act in unison and function as one nose. It is important to recognize the cycle as a normal phenomenon and to differentiate it from pathologic causes of nasal obstruction.