Human nose

Human nose
Human nose in profile
Cross-section of the interior of a nose
Details
Artery	sphenopalatine artery, greater palatine artery
Vein	facial vein
Nerve	external nasal nerve
Identifiers
Latin	nasus
MeSH	D009666
TA	A06.1.01.001 A01.1.00.009
FMA	46472
Anatomical terminology []

The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the nasal bones and the nasal cartilages, including the septal cartilage (which separates the nostrils) and the upper and lower lateral cartilages. On average the nose of a male is larger than that of a female.

The nose has an area of specialised cells which are responsible for smelling (part of the olfactory system). Another function of the nose is the conditioning of inhaled air, warming it and making it more humid. Hairs inside the nose prevent large particles from entering the lungs. Sneezing is usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa, but can more rarely be caused by sudden exposure to bright light (called the photic sneeze reflex) or touching the external auditory canal. Sneezing can transmit infections, because it creates aerosols in which the droplets can harbour microbes.

The nasal root is the top of the nose, forming an indentation at the suture where the nasal bones meet the frontal bone. The anterior nasal spine is the thin projection of bone at the midline on the lower nasal margin, holding the cartilaginous center of the nose. Adult humans have nasal hairs in the anterior nasal passage.

One of the most common medical conditions involving the nose are nosebleeds (in medicine: epistaxis). Most of them occur in Kiesselbach's area (synonym: Little's area). Nasal congestion is a common symptom of infections or other inflammations of the nasal lining (rhinitis), such as in allergic rhinitis or vasomotor rhinitis (resulting from nasal spray abuse). Most of these conditions also cause anosmia, which is the medical term for a loss of smell. This may also occur in other conditions, for example following trauma, in Kallmann syndrome or Parkinson's disease.