A wall of cartilage between the two nostrils and the two parts of the nasal cavity.
Mucous-membrane-covered bone and cartilage partition dividing the nostrils.
The partition that divides the nasal cavity into two nasal fossae. The bony portion is formed by the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone and the vomer. The cartilaginous portion is formed by septal and vomeronasal cartilages and medial crura of greater alar cartilages. Both sides of the septum are covered with mucous membranes.
The nasal septum, which divides the nose, is composed of cartilage (a type of connective tissue made of collagen) in the front and bone in the back. Both the cartilage and bone are enveloped by mucous membrane.
A deviated septum, where the septum is skewed to one side, can result from either a congenital condition or an injury. While this situation is seldom problematic, surgery might be necessary if it leads to obstructed breathing.
Trauma can also result in the creation of a hematoma, which is a gathering of clotted blood, between the septal cartilage and the wall of one of the nasal passages. This hematoma has the potential to impede breathing and could become infected, leading to the development of an abscess—a collection of pus—that might necessitate surgical drainage. On rare occasions, an abscess can manifest on a child’s septum without a preceding injury.
In uncommon cases, a perforation might develop in the nasal septum due to conditions like tuberculosis, syphilis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, or as a consequence of inhaling cocaine.