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Lateral nasal cartilage: anatomy, location and function

The lateral nasal cartilages are paired triangular cartilages forming the upper lateral part of the external nose. They shape and support the nose and keep the nasal passage open.

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Highlighted in the model: Lateral nasal cartilage. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Lateral nasal cartilage at a glance

What it is
The lateral nasal cartilages are paired triangular cartilages forming the upper lateral part of the external nose.
Location
They lie below the nasal bones, forming the side walls of the cartilaginous nasal vault.
Function
They shape and support the nose and keep the nasal passage open.
Body system
Respiratory · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA59513 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • They are continuous with the septal nasal cartilage.
  • The internal nasal valve, between its lower edge and the septum, is the narrowest part of the nasal airway.

Structures next to the lateral nasal cartilage

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Lateral nasal cartilage (FMA59513). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.