Nasal Vestibule

What Is the Nasal Vestibule?

The nasal vestibule is the widened front part of each nasal passage, the space that lies directly behind the nostrils and in front of the main nasal cavity. There are two vestibules, one on each side of the septum, and every breath taken through the nose passes through them first. This term is part of our respiratory system glossary.

The word vestibule means an entrance hall, and the name fits: the nasal vestibule is the lobby of the airway. It is the only part of the nasal cavity lined by skin rather than mucous membrane, which is why it feels dry and can grow hair. Anatomists also call it the vestibule of the nose or the vestibulum nasi.

Explained simply

When you breathe in through your nose, air first enters a small room just inside each nostril. That room is the vestibule. Its walls are covered with skin and stiff little hairs that work like a doormat, catching dust and specks before the air walks deeper into the nose.

Where Is the Nasal Vestibule Located?

The nasal vestibule is located inside the lower, movable part of the nose, extending from the nostril opening back and up to the limen nasi, a curved ridge on the outer wall. It sits within the soft, cartilage-supported tip of the nose rather than inside the bony skull.

• Lateral wall: the ala, or wing of the nose, built from the lateral crus of the major alar cartilage and dense fibrofatty tissue.
• Medial wall: the columella and the soft, movable front edge of the nasal septum, which separate the right and left vestibules.
• Floor: skin over soft tissue at the base of the nose, just above the upper lip.
• Upper and back limit: the limen nasi, a ridge formed by the upper edge of the lateral crus, where skin changes to mucous membrane.

Just behind the vestibule lies the internal nasal valve, the narrowest point of the nasal airway, formed by the septum, the lower edge of the upper lateral cartilage and the front end of the inferior nasal concha.

Nasal Vestibule Anatomy: Lining, Hairs and Glands

The nasal vestibule is lined by keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, the same tough surface layer as the skin of the face, which carries coarse hairs, sebaceous glands and sweat glands. This lining sets it apart from every other part of the respiratory tract.

Vibrissae

The hairs of the vestibule are called vibrissae. They are thicker and stiffer than ordinary body hair and point toward the nostril, so they form a loose mesh across the incoming air. Their sebaceous glands coat them with oil that helps particles stick.

Change of lining at the limen nasi

At the limen nasi the skin loses its keratin layer and hairs, and after a short stretch of non-keratinized epithelium it becomes the ciliated respiratory epithelium that lines the rest of the nasal cavity. From that point on, mucus and cilia, described in cilia and mucus, take over cleaning the air.

Blood, nerves and lymph

Blood reaches the vestibule mainly through branches of the facial artery, including the septal branch of the superior labial artery and the lateral nasal artery, and drains into the facial vein. Its skin is sensitive because it is supplied by branches of the trigeminal nerve, chiefly the infraorbital nerve and the external nasal branch of the anterior ethmoidal nerve. Lymph from the vestibule drains to the submandibular lymph nodes under the jaw.

What Is the Function of the Nasal Vestibule?

The main function of the nasal vestibule in the respiratory system is to receive inhaled air, screen out larger particles and steer the airstream into the nasal cavity. It is the first filter of the airway.

• Coarse filtering: the vibrissae catch insects, lint, pollen clumps and larger dust before they go deeper.
• Shaping airflow: the curved vestibule turns the airstream upward and backward toward the narrow valve region, where it speeds up and spreads over the nasal conchae.
• Keeping the entrance open: the springy alar cartilage holds the vestibule open, and the alar part of the nasalis muscle can flare the nostrils to widen it during hard breathing.
• Early warming and moistening: air begins to pick up heat and moisture here, although most of this work happens farther back.
• Protection: sensitive nerve endings detect irritants and can trigger a sneeze, while the skin barrier resists the constant contact with outside air.

Because the vestibule only begins this conditioning, air breathed through the mouth misses both the vestibule and the rest of the nasal filter, a difference explored in nose breathing vs mouth breathing.

Nares vs Nasal Vestibule and Other Related Structures

The nares are openings, while the nasal vestibule is the chamber that lies behind each opening. Several neighboring structures are easy to mix up with it.

Nares vs nasal vestibule

The external nares, or nostrils, are the two holes on the underside of the nose. Air passes through a naris and immediately enters a vestibule. At the far end of the nasal cavity, the internal nares, or choanae, open into the throat.

Nasal vestibule vs nasal cavity proper

Behind the limen nasi lies the nasal cavity proper, with its respiratory region over the conchae and its olfactory region high in the roof, where the sense of smell begins. These regions are lined by mucous membrane, not skin.

Nasal vestibule vs oral vestibule

The oral vestibule is the slit-shaped space between the lips and cheeks on the outside and the teeth and gums on the inside. It is the entrance zone of the mouth, just as the nasal vestibule is the entrance zone of the nose. The oral cavity entry describes how the oral vestibule differs from the oral cavity proper.

How Does the Nasal Vestibule Change With Age?

The nasal vestibule grows with the nose through childhood, and in later adult life its hairs and supporting tissues change. In infants the vestibules are small and the nostrils round, and they lengthen as the nasal tip develops during adolescence.

With age, many people, especially men, notice longer and coarser vestibular hairs. The supporting cartilage and skin also lose some stiffness, and the nasal tip may droop slightly, which can narrow the vestibule and the nearby valve region. These changes are part of normal aging of the face.

Common Conditions That Affect the Nasal Vestibule

Because it is lined by skin with hair follicles, the nasal vestibule is affected mostly by skin-type infections and by narrowing of its entrance. Wider nasal and airway disorders are listed in our respiratory diseases section.

• Nasal vestibulitis: a bacterial infection of the hair follicles of the vestibule, most often caused by Staphylococcus aureus, which can make the nostril red, crusted and sore.
• Nasal furuncle: a boil that forms when a single infected hair follicle becomes a small abscess.
• Vestibular stenosis: narrowing of the vestibule from scarring after injury, burns or surgery.
• Nasal valve collapse: weakness of the walls near the vestibule that lets them fall inward when breathing in, sometimes together with a deviated septum.
• Tumors: rare skin cancers can arise in the vestibule, most often squamous cell carcinoma.

The vestibule is also the place where Staphylococcus aureus most often lives harmlessly in healthy people, which is why screening swabs are taken from just inside the nostrils. Any sore, swelling or lump inside the nose that does not settle is a reason to see a doctor.