The Structure and Function of the Nasal Vestibule

The vestibule of the normal adult nose is a specialized organ with very characteristic structures and specific functions and is the beginning of each nasal passage. Here the respiratory tract makes its first contact with the outside world of air. The vestibule is surrounded almost entirely by its half of the nasal lobule, bounded laterally by the ala, or wing, medially by the mobile septum and columella, superiorly by the cul-de-sac and limen vestibuli, and posteriorly by the skin lying on the alveolar process of the superior maxilla. Its inferior limitation is the nostril (external naris). Anteroinferiorly, it becomes a recess behind the nasal tip, called the atrium or ventricle. Extending into the vestibule from above and in front is the ipsolateral upper lateral cartilage, which is the terminal lateral portion of the cartilage vault (the roof cartilage), which is usually attached by fibrous tissue to the accompanying terminal portion