The nose is a prominent structural element of the face that contains cells that are a part of the olfactory sensory systems (the sense of smell). The nose is also a portal or orifice to respiratory system. The nose plays an important role in both warming and filtering air before it enters the trachea, bronchi, and lungs.

Bilateral nostrils (external nares) form the external opening of the nose. Composed chiefly of skin and cartilage, the nostrils open into bilateral nasal cavities that are separated by a partition termed the nasal septum that is composed of cartilage and bone. Each of the nasal cavities is partially partitioned into three subcavities or nasal passages termed the superior, middle, and inferior nasal conchae. The passages are covered with mucous membranes and at the internal nares (openings) are continuous with the pharynx as the back of the nose. Because the nasal septum...