Structure/Morphology
The lateral wall of the nasal cavity is formed of several bones, roughly, from anterior to posterior: frontal process of maxilla, lacrimal, ethmoid, perpendicular plate of ethmoid, and medial pterygoid plate of sphenoid. Three “shelves” of bone, convex inferiorly, extend medially. These form the superior, middle, and inferior nasal conchae (turbinates). The inferior concha is the final bony component of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity, being a bone in its own right. It articulates with the ethmoid bone. The superior and middle conchae arise from the ethmoid bone.
Related parts of the anatomy
Key Features & Anatomical Relations
Inferior and tucked under the conchae are spaces called meatuses. Several passages open into each meatus. Specifically, the inferior meatus receives drainage from the lacrimal sac, and the middle and superior meatuses from paranasal sinuses.
