Editing Nasal concha (section)

{{short description|Piece of bone in the breathing passage of humans and other animals}}
{{Infobox bone
| Name        = Nasal concha/turbinate
| Latin       = conchae nasales
| Greek       = 
| Image       = Gray153.png
| Caption     = Lateral wall of nasal cavity, showing [[ethmoid bone]] in position. (Superior and middle in pink, and inferior in blue.)
| Width       = 260
| Image2      = Illu_nose_nasal_cavities.jpg
| Caption2    = 
| Precursor   = 
| System      = 
| Artery      = 
| Vein        = 
| Nerve       = 
| Lymph       = 
}}
[[File:Blausen 0872 UpperRespiratorySystem.png|thumb|Illustration of upper respiratory system]]

In [[anatomy]], a '''nasal concha''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|k|ə}}; {{plural form}}: '''conchae'''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|k|iː}}; [[Latin]] for 'shell'), also called a '''nasal turbinate''' or '''turbinal''',<ref name="Maynard Downes 2019 pp. 109–121">{{cite book | last1=Maynard | first1=Robert Lewis | last2=Downes | first2=Noel | title=Anatomy and Histology of the Laboratory Rat in Toxicology and Biomedical Research | chapter=Nasal Cavity | publisher=Elsevier | year=2019 | isbn=978-0-12-811837-5 | doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-811837-5.00010-1 | pages=109–121 | quote=In man, the three conchae define the meatuses: Inferior meatus: between inferior concha/turbinate and floor of nasal cavity; Middle meatus: between middle concha/turbinate and inferior concha; Superior meatus: between superior concha/turbinate and middle concha.}}</ref><ref name="Carlson 2019 pp. 303–319">{{cite book | last=Carlson | first=Bruce M. | title=The Human Body | chapter=The Respiratory System | publisher=Elsevier | year=2019 | isbn=978-0-12-804254-0 | doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-804254-0.00011-9 | pages=303–319| s2cid=79294211 }}</ref> is a long, narrow, curled shelf of [[bone tissue|bone]] that protrudes into the breathing passage of the [[nose]] in humans and various other animals. The conchae are shaped like an elongated [[seashell]], which gave them their name (Latin ''concha'' from Greek ''κόγχη''). A concha is any of the scrolled spongy [[bone]]s of the [[nasal cavity|nasal passages]] in [[vertebrate]]s.<ref name="Gray">[http://www.bartelby.com/107/223.html ''Anatomy of the Human Body''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121144014/http://bartelby.com/107/223.html |date=2013-01-21 }} Gray, Henry (1918) The Nasal Cavity.</ref>

In humans, the conchae divide the nasal airway into four groove-like air passages, and are responsible for forcing inhaled air to flow in a steady, regular pattern around the largest possible [[surface area]] of [[nasal mucosa]]. As a [[cilium|ciliated]] mucous membrane with shallow blood supply, the nasal mucosa cleans, humidifies and warms the inhaled air in preparation for the [[lung]]s.

A rapidly dilating arteriolar circulation to these bones may lead to a sharp increase in the pressure within, in response to acute cooling of the body core. The pain from this pressure is often referred to as "[[ice cream headache|brain freeze]]", and is frequently associated with the rapid consumption of [[ice cream]]. The shallowness of the venous blood supply of the mucosa contributes to the ease with which [[nosebleed]] can occur.