ANATOMICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE ATTACHMENTS OF THE MEDIAL CRURA

There is confusion in the current literature regarding the exact natur e of the attachments of the medial crura of the lobular cartilage. The re have been suggestions that these may be ligamentous, in case of the attachment between the paired medial crura, or membranous, in case of the attachment between the medial crus and the septum. In an attempt to clarify the situation and to define an unambiguous nomenclature an anatomical study has been undertaken involving the macroscopic dissect ion and histological examination of the noses of 11 caucasian cadavers . The results have not yielded any evidence to corroborate the presenc e of either a ligamentous or membranous attachment. Instead they show that these areas consist of irregularly arranged connective tissue whi ch fails to meet the histological criteria of a ligament or membrane.