Facts on File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

enters and leaves the pulmonary system. Air
enters the nose through the nostrils, passing
beneath the olfactory NERVEendings. Odor mole-
cules activate the nerve endings, which convert
the stimulation into nerve signals the olfactory
nerve (first cranial nerve) transmit to the BRAIN.
The air then swirls through the paranasal SINUSES,
cavities within the bones that form the face. The
sinuses warm and moisturize the air, bringing it
closer to the temperature and humidity of the
inner airways. Because it extends from the face,
the nose is vulnerable to traumatic injury and also
to environmental exposure hazards such as FROST-
BITEand SUNBURN. Numerous dermatological con-
ditions can affect the outer nose, among them
ACNE, ROSACEA, SKIN CANCER, ACTINIC KERATOSIS, and
KERATOACANTHOMA. Surgery to alter the appearance
of the nose, RHINOPLASTY, is one of the most com-

mon cosmetic procedures that plastic surgeons

perform.

COMMON CONDITIONS AFFECTING

THE STRUCTURES OF THE NOSE

ALLERGIC RHINITIS BROKEN NOSE

EPISTAXIS NASAL POLYP

NASAL VESTIBULITIS RHINORRHEA

SEPTAL DEVIATION SEPTAL PERFORATION

SINUSITIS

For further discussion of the nose within the

context of otolaryngologic structure and function

please see the overview section “The Ear, Nose,

Mouth, and Throat.”

See also CRANIAL NERVES; MOUTH; OPERATION;

THROAT.

nosebleed See EPISTAXIS.

38 The Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat