Nasal passage

“ We always recommend breathing through the nose, as doing so through the mouth dries up the mucous membranes, especially if throughout the night, during sleep, the mouth is kept open. This bad habit permits of the entrance of cold air which, not being warmed by passing through the nasal passages, may be injurious to the lungs. ”

“ It is possible at any time easily to discover whether the nasal passages are obstructed or not, The test can be made by exhaling on a concave metal mirror held at the level of the mouth, The clouds of condensed vapor give the true shape of transverse sections of the breathing-cones. ”

“ We have, in succession, the mouth (M.) , separated from the nasal passage (Na.) above the palate; the pharynx (ph.) , where the right and left nasal passages open by the posterior nares into the mouth; the oesophagus (oes.) ; the bag-like stomach, its left (Section 6) end being called the cardiac (cd.st.) , and its right the pyloric end (py.) ; the U-shaped duodenum (ddnm.) and the very long and greatly coiled ileum (il.) . The duodenum and ileum together form the small intestine; and the ileum is dilated at its distal end into a thick-walled sacculus rotundus (s.r.) ”

“ It follows that not only is a continued supply of fresh air essential to life, but that constant care is necessary to insure its purity at the moment of delivery. The natural channels for the passage of air to the lungs begin at the nostrils, which are furnished with short fine hairs and with mucus secretion, mechanical preventives of the inhalation of dust and light material. If obstruction of the nasal tract occurs, it is possible for breathing to take place through the mouth, but so harmful is the latter method to general health that attention is here directed to its results. ”

“ The air passages of the head and throat.
Pharynx, larynx, and trachea
There is only one tube leading from the back of the nasal passage to the lungs. Different parts of this tube are given different names. The pharynx is that part that extends from the back of the nose to the vocal chords. The larynx is the part of the throat where the vocal chords are located. We sometimes call it the "Adam's apple." It is very prominent in some men, but seldom noticeable in women. The trachea is the part of the tube leading down from the larynx. ”

“ In normal breathing the current of air which passes in and out of the lungs travels through the nose, not the mouth. The ingoing air, by exposure to the vascular mucous membrane of the narrow and winding nasal passages, is warmed and moistened, and at the same time the mouth is protected from the desiccating effects of the continual inroad of comparatively dry air. ”

“ Man should no more breathe through his mouth than he would attempt to take food through his nose.
Another feature of mouth-breathing is that the nasal passages, being thus comparatively unused, consequently fail to keep themselves clean and clear, and become clogged up and unclean, and are apt to contract local diseases. Like abandoned roads that soon become filled with weeds and rubbish, unused nostrils become filled with impurities and foul matter. ”

“ If the dust is too irritating, or the air is foul and contains disease germs, these set up an inflammation in the nose, and we "catch cold," as we say. If we keep on breathing bad or dusty air, the walls of the nasal passages become permanently thickened and swollen; the mucus, instead of being thin and clear, becomes thick and sticky and yellowish, and we have a catarrh. ”

“ If you are bothered with nasal tones caused by growths or swellings in the nasal passages, a slight, painless operation will remove the obstruction. This is quite important, aside from voice, for the general health will be much lowered if the lungs are continually starved for air. ”

“ Writers on the voice have almost universally claimed that the principal office of the soft palate is to shut off the nasal and head cavities from the throat, and to force the column of vibrations out through the mouth, thus allowing none, or at most a very small part, to pass into the nasal passages. ”

“ Special Physiology of Smell.—It is necessary that the air containing the odour be driven forcibly against the membrane. Thus the nostrils may be filled with eau de Cologne in normal saline solution, or with air impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and still no odour is experienced if the person does not breathe: When a sniff is made the air within the nasal passages is rarefied, and, as the air rushes in to equilibrate the pressure, it is forcibly propelled against the olfactory surface. ”

“ In fact, when the habit of mouth breathing has been contracted in infancy or in adult life, even when no obstruction of the naso-pharyngeal vault exists, not only do the nasal passages, through the lack of exercise, fail of normal development, but the open mouth and dulled eyes denote a serious deficiency in intellectual advance and capability. ”

“ Infinitesimal particles of musk fly off from the surface of the odorous body, and, becoming diffused through the air, are carried into the nasal passages, and thence into the olfactory chambers, where they come into contact with the filamentous extremities of the delicate olfactory epithelium. ”

“ In patients in whom, for various reasons, an artificial opening has been made in the trachea, the air of the room has to be heated to an almost intolerable point and saturated with moisture, or severe bronchial inflammation will soon develop in the patient, simply because the nose has not taken an active part in the act of respiration. These effects, therefore, clearly demonstrate that the nasal passages have an important function to perform in the breathing process. ”

“ Coughing, however, is generally caused by an irritation or obstruction of the larynx or trachea and the air is expelled through the mouth, while sneezing is caused by irritation of the nasal passages and the air is driven out through the nose. ”

“ Because the mucous membrane has become so swollen that the nasal passages are obstructed and the mucous membrane of the larynx has to perform a double function, that of heating the air as it is brought to the lungs in the process of respiration, as well as carrying out its own obligation to the scheme of nature. By a strange coincidence, this membrane of the larynx is supplied with sensation by the same nerve that conveys motion to one of its tensor muscles. ”

“ The Nasal Mutation.
§ 106. i. (1) A nasal before an explosive was assimilated to it in position where it differed; thus Ar. k̑m̥tóm ‘100’ > Brit. *kanton; Ar. *penqu̯e ‘5’ > Kelt. *qu̯eŋqu̯e > Brit. *pempe. This may be assumed to have taken place in Late Brit. when the nasal ended one word and the explosive began the next if the syntactical connexion was a close one. Subsequently a media, or (later) a tenuis, was assimilated to the nasal, becoming itself a nasal. This is called the “nasal mutation” of the explosive. ”

“ Every child knows that the nasal fossæ are formed to receive sensations, as by their depth and extent a larger surface is given to the pituitary membrane, and these soft sinuses, or cavities, are enabled to retain a greater mass of air loaded with odoriferous matter. ”

“ Adenoids that could be removed—even failure to keep the nose clean—may prevent a man from succeeding. Whatever hinders the free vibration of tones makes displeasing impressions of the speaker. When a man has a bad cold in his head that blocks the nasal passages, his voice rasps the ears of a hearer. ”

“ The Nasals.—The characteristic of a nasal is, as the name declares, the participation of the nose in producing the sound. The breath passes through the nose rather than through the mouth. Sometimes, however, all that happens is the removal of the membrane which separates the nasal orifice from the pharynx; this alone is indispensable to the formation of a nasal letter. Hence its [275] resemblance to a vowel, the buccal tube being alike silent in both cases. If we try to converse when walking uphill we shall find that the nasals are longest heard. ”

“ The spaces from which air is drawn through the nose are cones with their points at the nostrils. We may see their size and shape in the clouds of vapor formed by our exhalations in cold weather, The spaces from which odorous particles are drawn are portions of these larger spaces. The breathing-spaces are projections of the whole of the nasal cavities ; the “fields of smell” are projections only of those cavities from which odorous particles reach the olfactory membrane. ”

“ In this respect the whole race has experienced the misfortune of the man of whom the coroner reported, "Killed by falling too short a distance." Because we can breathe through the mouth we have neglected for centuries the nasal passages. ”

“ The affected nasal passages become filled by frothy liquid and blocked by false membranes, so that the bird is driven to breath through the open mouth. The skin around the nares, and eyelids and the cavity beneath the eye may be covered with the false membrane, by the increase of this product the bones may be driven out of place, so that the palatines press downward, the eyeball is pressed outward and the root of the beak may seem swollen. The false membranes that form on the skin or reach the surface are soft, creamy, cheesy, or dry, granular and friable. ”

“ The moral to be drawn from all the foregoing is to treat colds properly when they are present, keeping the nose and throat clean and clear of mucus, and to have any abnormal obstruction in the nose or throat and source of chronic catarrh removed, as enlarged tonsils, adenoids, and nasal outgrowths. ”

“ The pulse and breathing may be excited, amounting sometimes to dyspnœa, the throat is tender to the touch and its manipulation rouses a cough, the nasal mucosa is congested and the buccal membrane, and especially along the margin of the tongue may be red and angry. ”

“ Both in roots and in endings, a distinction of stronger and weaker forms is very often made by the presence or absence of a nasal element, a nasal mute or anusvāra, before a following consonant. In general, the stronger form is doubtless the more original ”

“ But it has now been clearly shown that in the asthmatic state the respiratory centre is in an unstable and excitable condition, and that there is a morbid connexion between this and some part of the nasal apparatus. ”

“ For instance, the introduction of too concentrated a saline solution into the nasal cavity will set up rhinitis and destroy the terminations of the olfactory nerves. Pure water, on the other hand, is itself a caustic. ”

“ Coming now to the evils resulting from mouth-breathing, we have first to remember that normally the air is inhaled through the nose, and is thus warmed, moistened, and filtered before being allowed to pass into the lungs; but in the mouth-breather the air, which may be dry, cold, and dust-laden, passes at once unprepared through the mouth into the lungs, impinging in its passage against the pharynx, thus drying and mechanically irritating the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and bronchial tubes, all of which are thereby predisposed to disease. ”

“ It will be noted, according to these theorists, that with the nostrils open the tone is nasal, and with the nostrils closed the tone is [Pg 64] not nasal. This proves to their satisfaction that a tone passing in whole or in part through the nasal cavities must be nasal in quality.
It must be noted here that these experiments are not in any sense convincing. A tone of objectionable nasal quality can be sung equally well with the nostrils either closed or open, and so can a tone free from the nasal quality. ”

“ The nose affords a passage for the air to the lungs, and is impressed by the odorous particles of bodies diffused through it, and, whilst it thus occasionally administers to our gratification, it gives us notice of the presence of those aeriform fluids which are noxious to respiration. Like the organ of taste, which is impressed by sapid bodies, it has a peculiar sympathy with the stomach; thus the taste, or smell, of any disagreeable substance, very commonly excites sickness and vomiting. ”

“ For when we draw breath by the nostrils we draw it into the lungs. That breath, therefore, which conveys smells is in the way which passeth to the lungs, that is to say, in that part of the nostrils which is below the passage through which the breath goeth. ”

“ It is the last gleam springing from the dying flame; but soon the eyes become fixed and insensible to the action of light, the nose grows pointed and cold, the mouth, wide open, seems to call for the air that fails it, the cavity within it is parched, and the lips, as if withered, cling to the curves of the teeth. The last movements of respiration are spasmodic, and a wheezing, and sometimes a marked gurgling sound, may be heard at some distance, caused by obstruction of the bronchial tubes with a quantity of mucus. The breath is cold, the temperature of the skin lowered. ”

“ The water may be drawn through one nostril and discharged through the other, or drawn through both nostrils and discharged through the mouth. There is no harm in the water going even into the stomach provided the nostrils are clean. ”

“ Rigidity of the limbs, gradual smoothness of the skin, warmth and redness in particular parts of the body, hiccough, contraction and hissing of the nostrils, a tremulous motion of the whole body, mucus issuing from the nose during the artificial inflation of the lungs, a slight convulsive motion of the mouth, and a firm compression of the teeth. ”

“ The intricate purifying organization of the nostrils, arresting and holding the impure particles in the air, is as important as is the action of the mouth in stopping cherry-stones and fish-bones and preventing them from being carried on to the stomach. ”