Anatomy of the Upper Respiratory Tract

Question 1

What are the functions of the upper respiratory tract?

Answer 1

humidify, warm and filter air

Question 2

What are the boundaries of the nasal cavities?

What is the structure of the nasal cavities?

Answer 2

anterior = external nares
posterior = internal nares, open into the nasopharynx 
medial = nasal septum, cartilage, vomer and ethmoid
lateral = conchae
floor = maxilla and palatine bone 
roof = frontonasal, ethmoidal, sphenoidal

superior, middle, inferior nasal conchae
inferior, middle, superior meatuses and spheno-ethmoidal recess

Question 3

Name all the paranasal sinuses?

Answer 3

ethmoid air cells
maxillary sinuses
frontal sinuses
sphenoid sinus

Question 4

What is the site of drainage for the following sinuses?

• frontal
• sphenoidal
• maxillary
• ethmoid anterior group
• ethmoid middle group
• ethmoid posterior group

Answer 4

• hiatus semilunaris –> middle meatus
• sphenoethmoidal recess
• hiatus semilunaris –> middle meatus
• hiatus semilunaris –> middle meatus
• ethmoid bulla –> middle meatus
• superior meatus

Question 5

What drains into the inferior meatus and what does this fluid contain?

Answer 5

nasolacrimal duct

Question 6

What are the 4 tonsils that make up Waldeyer’s ring?

Answer 6

palatine - between palatoglossal and glossopharyngeal arches
lingual - posterior base of tongue
tubal - around eustachian tube
pharyngeal - (adenoids) roof of nasopharynx

Question 7

Which muscle opens the eustachian tube?

Answer 7

salpingopharyngeus

Question 8

What are the muscles of the pharynx?

What are they innervated by?

Answer 8

circular = superior, middle, inferior
longitudinal = stylopharyngeus, palatopharyngeus, salpingopharyngeus
All innervated by the vagus nerve apart from stylopharyngeus which is the glossopharyngeal nerve

Question 9

Which sinus is particularly susceptible to sinusitis and why??

Answer 9

maxillary sinus because the frontal and anterior ethmoidal sinuses also drain into the nasal cavity via the hiatus semilunaris

Question 10

Infection is the ethmoidal sinuses often leads to infection in other sinuses. Why?

Answer 10

ethmoid sinuses drain into three places, all of which are near the other sinuses

Question 11

What respiratory dysfunction may result from a deviated septum/

Answer 11

diffuculty breathing through nose, noisy breathing at night

Question 12

Which bones for the nasal conchae?

Answer 12

ethmoid

inferior is a separate bone

Question 13

What tissue type lines the paranasal sinuses?

Answer 13

respiratory epithelium

Question 14

What is the blood supply of the upper respiratory tract?

Where do nose bleeds originate?

Answer 14

external carotid
- maxillary artery
- facial artery
internal carotid
- ophthalmic 

Kesselman’s plexus

Question 15

Where is the eustachian tube?

Which two muscles help to open it?

Answer 15

lateral wall of the nasopharynx at the level of the inferior conchae
opened by levator veil palatini and salpingopharyngeus

Question 16

The soft palate is attached anteriorly to the hard palate by the ………… …………..
It is thin posteriorly/anteriorly
blends with the posterior/anterior part of the muscle

Answer 16

palatine aponeurosis
posteriorly
posterior

Question 17

What are the muscles of the soft palate and what is their innervation?

Answer 17

palatoglossus - vagus
palatopharyngeus - vagus 
levator veli palatini - vagus
tensor veli palatini - vagus
musculus uvulae - vagus

Question 18

Where does the pharynx extend to and from?
What is it split up into?
What type of epithelium is it lined by
What are the muscles and what is their innervation?

Answer 18

skull to C6
naso/oro/laryngopharynx
non keratinsie stratified squamous

superior, middle and inferior constrictors - constrict wall of pharynx during swallowing
salpingopharyngeus, stylopharyngeus, palatopharyngeus - eleveate and widen pharnyx during swallowing
All innervated by vagus except stylopharyngeus which is glossopharyngeal