The nasal valve dilemma: the narrow straw vs the weak wall.

摘要

IN ITS SIMPLEST ANATOMI-cal definition, the nasal cavity may be viewed as a longitudinal set of cross-sectional area segments that act as resistors in series, with the overall resistance being dominated by a single flow-limiting region with the least cross-sectional area, ie, the narrowest segment of the "straw." A great deal of attention has been placed on identification of this resistive segment. This is the region of the nasal valve-internal, external, and the area in between.