Living without air is impossible. Our whole life consists of rhythmic inhalations and exhalations. This is how life-giving oxygen enters the body. What happens to air in the nasal cavity? Why is it important for a person to breathe correctly and freely?
The main functions of the nose and nasal cavity
Nature laid on the human nose 4 main functions:
- Breath. The most important function designed to ensure the supply of oxygen to tissues.
- Sense of smell. One of the feelings that allows you to fully live, perceiving the smells of the world.
- Protection. What happens to air in the nasal cavity? First of all, it is cleansed. All large impurities, such as dust, linger on the inner hairs, called cilia. Smaller particles settle on the nasal mucosa. In addition, a kind of disinfection occurs, since nasal mucus neutralizes bacteria that have fallen into the air. And in the nasal cavity, the air warms up to the required temperature and moistens. Warming the air in the nasal cavity avoids many problems and diseases.
- Acoustics. The sound is amplified in the nasal cavity. The resonator function facilitates the pronunciation of consonants.
Anatomy. Outer nose
The nose is considered the inlet of the upper respiratory tract. This body consists of three components:
- outer nose;
- nasal cavity;
- sinuses.
The outer nose is called the bone-cartilage base, covered with muscle tissue and skin. The shape of the nose for each person is individual, but in general it is a figure close to an irregular trihedral pyramid. The nasal bones are paired, they are fixed on the frontal bone, forming the back of the nose. The wings and tip are formed of cartilage. And the skin and muscle cover has a large number of capillaries, nerve fibers and sebaceous glands.
Clinical anatomy of the nose. Nasal cavity
Let's start with clinical anatomy. That is, we determine the structure and position of the nose and its cavity. In addition, we determine which departments interact with the body. In the previous section, the location and contact of the external part of the organ with other parts of the skull was described. As for the nasal cavity, it is located between the oral cavity and the fossa of the skull. And on the sides are eye sockets.
The nasal cavity is divided into 2 parts by a septum. Interaction with the external environment occurs through the nostrils, with the nasopharynx - through the choana (inner nasal opening). On each side, the nasal cavity is surrounded by four paranasal sinuses.
Why not breathe through your mouth
Many people breathe through their mouths, not understanding why this is not worth it. This is especially true for children. What happens to air when breathing? To begin with, it passes through the outer nose and nasal cavity. Before allowing air to flow into the larynx, the body warms and cleans it while passing through the nose. Through the larynx, air enters the trachea and bronchi, then into the lungs. Pulmonary vesicles (alveoli) are filled with air received during inhalation, and give it to the blood through numerous capillaries. When breathing through the mouth, dust particles and other foreign elements directly enter the lungs.
If children breathe with their mouth, then they may have underdeveloped maxillary sinuses and narrow nasal passages. In addition, this leads to abnormal growth of teeth, which begin to "crawl" onto each other. Since the balance between the front and jaw parts is disturbed, speech difficulties begin.
Understanding what happens to air in the nasal cavity, and how improper breathing affects a person, it is much easier to explain to children and adults why it is necessary to breathe through the nose and not through the mouth.
Diseases of the external nose
Diseases of the external nose are not very many. These can be congenital malformations in babies. Such as a lateral trunk (dysgenesis), that is, the appearance of an additional nostril. Underdevelopment of one half of the nose or nasal cartilage (hypogenesis) may occur.
Common diseases of the external nose are injuries. It can be nasal fractures and even organ detachment.
With age, the outer nose can affect rhinophyma. This disease is poorly studied, popularly called raspberry, wine or potato nose. The disease leads to an increase in the organ and a change in its shape. More common in men.
Diseases of the nasal cavity
Diseases of the external nose and nasal cavity can be congenital and acquired. Congenital, for example, is the narrowness of the nasal passages. The narrowing may be partial or complete.
Often the nasal cavity is damaged as a result of injuries and bruises. Damage to the internal nasal septum is possible, which affects the air permeability. Curvature of the internal septum makes breathing difficult.
Another common disease is an acute runny nose. So called inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose. A runny nose can be an independent disease or be one of the symptoms of another infectious lesion.
An acute runny nose sometimes becomes chronic. Chronic runny nose is often a long-term independent disease. The chronic process is divided into simple, hypertrophic, atrophic and allergic forms. If you do not treat a chronic runny nose, then the patency of the Eustachian tubes may be impaired and catarrh of the middle ear may develop.
One of the chronic diseases of the nasal cavity is called "ozena". The disease is expressed in a sharp atrophy of the nasal mucosa. Over time, the process affects not only the mucous membrane, but also the bone structure of the shells. The problem is still not well understood, but doctors suggest that its roots lie in external factors and living conditions.
Understanding what happens to air in the nasal cavity, a person is more serious about maintaining health. This allows you to stop the pathological processes in time and avoid serious problems.