title: External nasal morphology and respiratory function.
abstract: Clinicians have been known to characterize nasal respiratory function on the basis of subjective appraisal of external facial morphology. Certain nasal morphologic features have been assumed to be associated with impaired nasal function. The purpose of this study was to develop measures of anterior external nasal morphology and to determine whether any of these measures correlate with nasal function. Nasal casts were produced from impressions of 60 postpubertal white subjects from which four measures were made to characterize nasal morphology: (1) nasal base shape, (2) minimum nasal orifice width, (3) nasal orifice shape, and (4) nasal orifice area. Nasal function was evaluated by measuring nasal airway resistance by means of posterior rhinomanometry and by measuring the air respired nasally and orally by means of the simultaneous nasal and oral respirometric technique. No significant correlations were found between external nasal morphology and nasorespiratory function. These findings underscore the necessity of avoiding assumptions about breathing function on the basis of clinical appraisal of external nasal form.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Spalding
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Vig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000403:Airway Resistance; D002508:Cephalometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation