Noses and sinuses

How is snot made? Why do we have nose hair? And how can we smell different smells? The model shows our fantastic nose!

The nasal cavity is divided into two halves and makes up the nostrils and the septum.

The septum is made up of cartilage at the front and bone at the back. The whole surface is covered by something called a mucous membrane that has many blood vessels. The mucous membrane in the nose is where snot is made. Snot captures microorganisms and particles that pass through the hairs in the nose. Here, you can learn more about snot!

The hairs filter the air as you breathe in and stops the particles from entering your airways. Nose hairs and snot moisten, warm up and clean the air you breathe in and protect our lungs from infection, the cold and dehydration.

Each nostril has three muscles called Conchae. They are made of a shelf of bone covered with a mucous membrane. The nose muscles include cavities linked to veins that help warm up the air we breathe in.

When we inhale, hair flows over the nose muscles in the nasal cavity which direct the air towards the top of the inside of the nose. Particles in the air then come into contact with receptors that turn these molecules into electrical impulses in the brain that then registers and recognises the smell.