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Portrait of Nasal bone

Anatomy · Bones

Nasal bone

The bridge of the nose

Skull · facial bones

The two small nasal bones join at the midline to form the bony bridge of the nose. They lie between the frontal processes of the maxillae and support the cartilages that form the lower, softer part of the nose. Because the nose projects from the face, these are the bones most often broken in facial injuries.

How to spot them

  • ▸Two small, oblong bones side by side, forming the upper bridge of the nose
  • ▸Meet the forehead bone above, at a point called the nasion, and the maxillae at the sides
  • ▸The lower part of the nose is cartilage, not bone
  • ▸The commonest facial bone to fracture

What to know

The two small paired bones that form the upper bridge of the nose

Nasal bones — they join at the midline.

The commonest facial fracture; a blow to the front of the face breaks these bones and can leave a permanent deformity

Nasal bone — nasal fracture from blunt trauma.

The point where these bones meet the forehead bone is called the nasion, the 'dip' between the eyes

Nasal bone — the nasofrontal suture at the nasion.

They support the lateral cartilages of the nose, below which the nose is shaped by cartilage rather than bone

Nasal bone — the lower nose is hyaline cartilage.

They articulate with the forehead bone, the ethmoid, the maxilla and each other

Nasal bone — four articulations.

Key ideas

  • The external nasal skeleton is bone above (nasal bones and frontal processes of the maxillae) and hyaline cartilages below (lateral, major alar and minor alar).

Quick-fire facts

  • •Nasal fractures are the most common facial fractures, because of the nose's prominence
  • •The nasal bones articulate with the frontal bone, the ethmoid bone (perpendicular plate), the maxillae and each other
  • •They support the cartilages that form the lateral walls of the nose
  • •The nasion is the midpoint of the nasofrontal suture, the bony 'dip' at the root of the nose
  • •The internal nasal septum is formed by the nasal, maxillary, palatine, ethmoid and vomer bones plus cartilage
  • •The lower nose has 3 or 4 minor alar cartilages on each side
  • •The nasal bones are absent or reduced in some chromosomal conditions and are measured in prenatal ultrasound screening
  • •Permanent deformity after a fracture arises from disruption of both bone and cartilage

Drill it — 6 cards

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Sources