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NOAH D. FABRICANT, M.D.

AMA Arch Otolaryngol. 1957;66(3):275-277.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The proper preparation of inspired air for acceptable use by the lungs constitutes one of the more important functions of the nasal cavity. Inspired air, during its brief passage through the nasal cavity, is rapidly subjected to a threefold process of cleansing, moistening, and temperature adjustment. In terms of the latter, heating of inspired air depends on an intricate system of blood vessels and cavernous spaces in the turbinal and septal mucous membranes. This vascular network—the blood vessels are described as lying in parallel rows much like a radiator¹—has the ability to dilate or constrict in response to the need for thermal variations and fluctuations. Actually, a thermostatic apparatus for the efficient heating of inspired air is set into motion when heat is radiated from the blood vessels in the turbinal and septal mucous membranes.

Nasal temperature has been variously estimated to run anywhere from 30 C (86 . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Chicago

Footnotes
Accepted for publication March 1, 1957.

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