Abstract
The height (H) and breadth (B) of the inferior nasal meatus were evaluated using polytomographic frontal sections at 1, 3, 4 and 5cm from the nasion. Normal adults, 45 males and 40 females, were studied. Neither H nor B showed significant differences between the right and the left sides. Both H and B were larger in males than females with statistically significant differences. The difference becomes larger at the posterior portion of the nasal cavity. Correlation between H and B at the same section was small. Individual variation of H was larger than B and the variation tends to become smaller at the posterior portion of the nasal cavity. The inferior nasal meatus is made of the inferior concha, palatine bone and maxilla. The inferior concha and palatine bone evolve as a part of the maxilla as far as the facial development is concerned. Since the lateral and the inferior boundaries of the inferior nasal meatus belong to the different functional units of the maxilla, the height and breadth are influenced by different factors. The development of the inferior nasal meatus is thus a part of the facial development.
