Kiesselbach's plexus
The bones and cartilage of the nasal septum-- viewed from right side. Kiesselbach's plexus (not labelled) is the anterior part of the nasal septum where several arteries anastomose.
Kiesselbach's plexus, which lies in Kiesselbach's area, Kiesselbach's triangle, or Little's area, is a region in the anteroinferior part of the nasal septum where four arteries anastomose to form a vascular plexus. The arteries are:[1]
- Anterior ethmoidal artery and posterior ethmoidal artery (both from the ophthalmic artery)
- Sphenopalatine artery (terminal branch of the maxillary artery)
- Greater palatine artery (from the maxillary artery)
- Septal branch of the superior labial artery (from the facial artery)
Significance
Ninety percent of nose bleeds (epistaxis) occur in Little's area, as it is exposed to the drying effect of inspiratory current.[2][3]
History
Kiesselbach's plexus is named after Wilhelm Kiesselbach (1839–1902), a German otolaryngologist who published a paper on the area in 1884.
James L. Little, an American surgeon, first described the area in 1879. Little described the area as being "about half an inch .... from the lower edge of the middle of the column [septum]." [4]
See also
References
- ↑ Moore, Keith L. et al. (2014) Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 7th Ed, p.959
- ↑ Doyle, DE (Mar 1986). "Anterior epistaxis: a new nasal tampon for fast, effective control.". The Laryngoscope. 96 (3): 279–81. doi:10.1288/00005537-198603000-00008. PMID 3951304.
- ↑ Nasal Anatomy at eMedicine
- ↑ Analysis of Epistaxis in Pregnancy, Little, J. L.: A hitherto undescribed lesion as a cause of epistaxis, with 4 cases, Hosp. Gaz., 6:5, March-Dec. 1879.
External links
- Epistaxis - utmb.edu
- Nose Anatomy - emedicine.com
- Nasal Anatomy - fpnotebook.com
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