The arterial supply of the nasal cavity

Abstract

With the development of endonasal flaps, an understanding of the arterial anatomy of the nasal cavity has become increasingly important for clinicians. Despite this, there is a lack of current, accurate overviews in the literature. We have used both endoscopic and gross dissection of six fresh frozen cadaveric heads, alongside a literature review, to produce a comprehensive description of the anatomy. Four heads had their arterial systems injected with red latex. Three injected and two uninjected heads were dissected endoscopically, to provide a total of seven sides. The fourth injected head was hemisected for gross examination. The arterial systems were dissected and examined. The posterior septal artery was found to enter the nasal cavity from the sphenopalatine foramen in five sides. It bifurcated on the sphenoid rostrum in seven sides with a bifurcation lateral to the sphenoid ostium occurring in five sides and a medial bifurcation in two sides. The posterior septal artery supplied Kiesselbach's plexus on the nasal septum along with the greater palatine artery and septal branches of the superior labial and anterior ethmoidal arteries. The posterior lateral nasal artery arose from the sphenopalatine foramen in five sides to supply the lateral wall. The lateral wall branch of the anterior ethmoidal and the anterior lateral nasal artery anastomosed at the head of the inferior turbinate. These findings were mostly consistent with the current literature. We have produced a detailed and up-to-date description and diagram of the arterial supply to the nasal cavity, which may be of use to clinicians, anatomists and students.

Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations

“…Here, inspired air is increasingly forced laterally under the turbinate and into the inferior meatus, resulting in a considerably greater volume of air passing along the lateral nasal wall in the posterior half of the nasal passage compared to the anterior passage. Interestingly, increased airflow in this vicinity corresponds to origins of the posterior lateral branches of the sphenopalatine artery (e.g., inferior turbinate artery) and Woodruff's plexus, a superficial venous plexus underlying the mucosa of the inferior meatus commonly associated with posterior epistaxis (Chiu, Shaw‐Dunn, & McGarry, ; MacArthur & McGarry, ). Consequently, in addition to promoting heat and moisture transfer between the turbinate and septum, the extremely narrow common meatuses in Arctic individuals may also increase airflow along the lateral wall in the posterior nasal passage, further enhancing air‐conditioning by exposing the inspiratory airstream to advantageous sources of mucosal heat and moisture in the posterior nasal cavity.…”

Septal floor rotational flap pedicled on ethmoidal arteries for endoscopic skull base reconstruction

“…It divides into two or three branches at the septum, supporting most of it, especially the posterior portion. The superior labial artery and the greater palatine artery, respectively, derive from the facial artery and the descending palatine artery, and both contribute to Little's area . We here focus on the ethmoidal arteries, which originates from the ophthalmic artery of the internal carotid system and mainly irrigate the superior wall of the septum.…”

The radioanatomy of endonasal flap coverage of skull base defects: A tool for preoperative planning

“…Each flap was modeled bilaterally based on the measurements shown in Table and Figure . Their arterial supply is represented based on previous work by the authors . Pedicle length was included in each model.…”

“…Their arterial supply is represented based on previous work by the authors. 33 Pedicle length was included in each model.…”