MOUTH, THROAT, NOSE, AND SINUSES

Mouth and Throat

Make up the first part of digestive system, responsible for receiving food, taste, preparing food for digestion and aiding speech 

Nose and Paranasal Sinuses

Constitute the first part of the respiratory system, responsible for receiving, filtering, warming, and moistening air to be transported to the lungs.

Mouth

formed by the lips, cheeks, hard and soft palates, uvula, and the tongue and its muscles.

Throat

Also known as the pharynx, Located behind the mouth and nose, serves as a muscular passage for food and air.

Nasopharynx

upper part of the pharynx, lies behind the nose, connects nasal passages to the rest of the respiratory system, allows passage of air to get from nose to lungs.

Oropharynx

Below the nasopharynx, middle part includes back of tongue, tonsils, soft-palate and pharyngeal wall, allows air and food to pass through. Serves as both respiratory and digestive system

Laryngopharynx

below oropharynx, crucial connection point through which food, water, and air pass. Also, the point where the pharynx divides anteriorly into the larynx and posteriorly into esophagus.

External nose

a bridge, tip, and two oval openings called nares 

Internal nose

nasal cavity; nasal septum; Kiesselbach area; superior, middle, and inferior turbinate

Kiesselbach area

located at the anterior inferior quadrant of the nasal septum where several arteries anastomose. Common site of nose bleeding (epistaxis).

Turbinates

bony structures inside the nose covered by soft tissue (mucosa) that regulates airflow, warm and humidifies the air you inhale.

Paranasal Sinuses

group of 4 paired air-filled spaces that surround the nasal cavity 

Gingivitis

Red swollen gums that bleed easily occur in early gum disease

Epistaxis

can be a local or systemic cause.

Buccal mucosa

lining of the cheeks and back of the lips inside the mouth, its should appear PINK

Wharton ducts

tongues’s main channels of saliva

Hard palate

pale or whitish with firm wrinkle -folds

Soft palate

should be pinkish, spongy, and smooth. No foul odor. 

Uvula

hangs freely in the midline. No redness exudes.

Nasal mucosa

dark pink, moist, and free of exudate.

Nasal septum

intact, no ulcers or perforations.

Turbinates

dark pink, moist and free of lesions.

Torus palatinus

bony growth in roof of the mouth, in female Eskimos, Native Americans, and Asians 

Bifid uvula

cleft uvula or split in two, in Native Americans and Asians