Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

38 The Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat
enters and leaves the pulmonary system. Air
enters the nose through the nostrils, passing
beneath the olfactory NERVE endings. Odor molecules
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-
BITE and SUNBURN. Numerous dermatological conditions
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 common
cosmetic procedures that plastic surgeons
perform.
ALLERGIC RHINITIS
EPISTAXIS
NASAL VESTIBULITIS
SEPTAL DEVIATION
SINUSITIS
COMMON CONDITIONS AFFECTING
THE STRUCTURES OF THE NOSE
BROKEN NOSE
NASAL POLYP
RHINORRHEA
SEPTAL PERFORATION
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.