ABSTRACT

Almost twenty years ago it was clearly shown by Ninderer [1] that septal deformities can cause metaplastic changes of the nasal mucosa owing to high-speed inspiratory and expiratory air currents, which on sniffling or snorting may reach hurricane speeds. This statement was confirmed later on by the fact that there is considerable influence of shapes and dimensions on velocity fields in the nasal cavity [2]. The airflow is considered to be incompressible, steady, and laminar [3]. This is in accordance with the finding of Hess [4] who stated that under static conditions laminar flow without turbulence can be seen in all sections of the nasal cavities. Some authors, however, determined airflows also to be moderately turbulent [5], depending on airflow velocity. According to these data septal deformities also can cause variations in airflow velocities: the narrow places in the nasal cavity give rise to increased velocity and vice versa.