Skip to content
nose

File:Canine_Nose_Macro_Photo.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ7363· pop 209· linked from 306 articles

A nose is a sensory organ and respiratory structure in vertebrates. It consists of a nasal cavity inside the head, and an external nose on the face. The external nose houses the nostrils, or nares, a pair of tubes providing airflow through the nose for respiration. Where the nostrils pass through the nasal cavity they widen, are known as nasal fossae, and contain turbinates and olfactory mucosa. The nasal cavity also connects to the paranasal sinuses (dead-end air cavities for pressure buffering and humidification). From the nasal cavity, the nostrils continue into the pharynx, a switch track

AI overview

Your nose is a sensory organ that lets you breathe and smell, with an external part on your face containing nostrils and an internal cavity that filters and conditions air as it enters your body. It matters because it's essential for respiration and allows you to detect odors through specialized tissue in the nasal cavity.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name
Nose
Anatomy.Latin
nasus
Anatomy.Greek
ῥίς (rhís)
Anatomy.Image
Canine Nose Macro Photo.png
Anatomy.Caption
Nose of a dog

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

177,104 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image
Dog nose.jpg
Show 4 more facts
Unicode character
👃
Commons category
Noses
Commons gallery
Nose
NCI Thesaurus ID
C12756
Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~8 min read

Article

7 sections
Contents
  • Air treatment
  • Sense of direction
  • Structure in air-breathing forms
  • In fish
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

A nose is a sensory organ and respiratory structure in vertebrates. It consists of a nasal cavity inside the head, and an external nose on the face. The external nose houses the nostrils, or nares, a pair of tubes providing airflow through the nose for respiration. Where the nostrils pass through the nasal cavity they widen, are known as nasal fossae, and contain turbinates and olfactory mucosa. The nasal cavity also connects to the paranasal sinuses (dead-end air cavities for pressure buffering and humidification). From the nasal cavity, the nostrils continue into the pharynx, a switch track valve connecting the respiratory and digestive systems.

In humans, the nose is located centrally on the face and serves as an alternative respiratory passage especially during suckling for infants. The protruding nose that is completely separate from the mouth part is a characteristic found only in therian mammals. It has been theorized that this unique mammalian nose evolved from the anterior part of the upper jaw of the reptilian-like ancestors (synapsids).

Gallery (7)

Available in 188 languages

Show 169 more

via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0

Connections

Categories