Your nose does a lot more than sit in the middle of your face looking pretty. It filters around 20,000 liters of air every single day, warms it up, humidifies it, and sends it down to your lungs in a form your body can actually use. All of that happens automatically, without you ever thinking about it.
What makes this possible is a surprisingly detailed framework of bones, cartilage, and soft tissue working together under your skin. Each piece has a specific job, and together they give your nose its shape, its flexibility, and its ability to function like a finely tuned air-processing system.
Most people go their entire lives never knowing what their nose is actually made of. But whether you’re a student studying anatomy, someone considering rhinoplasty, or just a curious person who likes understanding how your body works, knowing the parts of your nose can be genuinely useful. Let’s break it all down, piece by piece.
Nose Parts Diagram & Details
The nose diagram featured here offers two views of the external nose’s underlying structure. On the left, a lateral (side) view shows the nose in profile, revealing how the different components stack and connect from the bridge down to the tip. You can clearly see the hard nasal bone at the top transitioning into softer cartilage structures as you move lower, with each section color-coded for easy identification. On the right, a basal (bottom-up) view shows the nose as if you were looking straight up at someone’s nostrils, exposing the internal framework that shapes the nasal tip and nostril openings.
Together, these two perspectives give you a complete picture of how the nose holds its shape. What follows is a detailed look at each labeled part, what it does, and why it matters.
1. Nasal Bone
Right at the top of your nose, forming that firm bridge between your eyes, sit the nasal bones. These are two small, oblong bones that fuse together at the midline of your face. If you press the upper part of your nose with your fingers, the hard, unyielding section you feel is the nasal bone. It’s the only part of your nose that’s actually made of bone rather than cartilage.
These bones anchor the upper third of your nose to your skull, connecting to the frontal bone above and the maxillary bones on either side. Their primary role is protection. They shield the delicate nasal passages underneath from impact and injury, acting like a bony helmet for the upper portion of your airway.
Because they’re rigid and relatively thin, nasal bones are one of the most commonly fractured bones in the face. A direct hit from a ball, a fall, or any blunt force can crack them pretty easily. That’s why a broken nose almost always involves these specific bones.
2. Septal Cartilage
Moving down from the nasal bone, you enter the territory of septal cartilage, sometimes called nasal septal cartilage depending on the anatomical reference. This flat, firm piece of cartilage sits right along the midline of your nose, forming the central wall that divides your nasal cavity into left and right sides.
Think of it as the backbone of your nose. It provides vertical support and gives the middle third of your nose much of its height and shape. Without it, the nose would lack the structural stiffness needed to stay upright and maintain an open airway.
A deviated septum, a condition where this cartilage shifts or bends to one side, is extremely common. It can partially block one nasal passage, making breathing through that side noticeably harder. In severe cases, surgical correction (septoplasty) may be recommended to straighten things out and restore proper airflow.
3. Lateral Nasal Cartilage
Sitting just below the nasal bones, on either side of the septal cartilage, are the lateral nasal cartilages. These are roughly triangular plates that form the upper sidewalls of your nose. They’re responsible for the shape and structure of the middle third, that slightly flared section between the bridge and the tip.
Their position is critical for airflow. The lateral nasal cartilages hold the nasal valve area open, which is the narrowest part of your entire airway. If these cartilages are weak, damaged, or collapse inward when you breathe in, you’ll feel a significant restriction. That sensation of your nostrils caving in during a deep breath often traces back to insufficient lateral cartilage support.
During rhinoplasty, surgeons pay very close attention to these structures. Altering them too aggressively can compromise breathing, so any reshaping needs to balance appearance with the nose’s ability to move air efficiently.
4. Minor Alar Cartilage
Tucked between the lateral nasal cartilage above and the greater alar cartilage below, the minor alar cartilages (also called lesser alar cartilages or accessory cartilages) are small, irregularly shaped pieces of cartilage found within the fibrous tissue of the nasal sidewall.
They may be small, but they serve an important supporting role. These cartilages help reinforce the area between the major structural cartilages, filling in gaps and adding stability to the lateral wall of the nose. Their exact number and shape vary from person to person, which is part of why every nose looks a little different.
5. Alar Fibrofatty Tissue
Not everything that shapes your nose is bone or cartilage. The alar fibrofatty tissue is a pad of dense, fibrous tissue mixed with fat that sits in the lower portion of the nasal sidewall, particularly around the nostrils. In the diagram, it occupies the area near the base and wing of the nose.
This tissue gives your nostrils their rounded, fleshy appearance. It contributes to the width and fullness of the lower nose, and its thickness varies significantly between individuals and ethnic groups. People with wider, rounder nostrils tend to have more alar fibrofatty tissue, while those with thinner, more pinched nostrils have less.
Because it lacks the rigid framework of cartilage, this tissue is relatively soft and pliable. In cosmetic procedures, surgeons can reduce or reshape it to alter nostril size and shape, a technique commonly used in alar base reduction surgery.
6. Greater Alar Cartilage
The greater alar cartilage is arguably the most important cartilage for defining the shape of your nasal tip and nostrils. It’s a curved, U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped piece of cartilage that wraps around each nostril opening. In the side view, you can see it at the very tip of the nose. In the bottom-up view, its curved structure is even more visible.
Each greater alar cartilage has two main parts called “crura.” The lateral crus extends along the side of the nostril, while the medial crus runs along the bottom toward the midline. Together, these two arms of cartilage create the framework that determines how pointed, rounded, bulbous, or refined your nasal tip appears.
This is the cartilage that rhinoplasty surgeons spend the most time sculpting. Trimming, suturing, or grafting the greater alar cartilage can dramatically change the tip’s projection, rotation, and overall look. It’s flexible enough to be reshaped, yet strong enough to maintain the new form after healing.
7. Medial Crus
Visible in the basal view of the diagram, the medial crus (plural: medial crura) is the inner leg of the greater alar cartilage. The two medial crura from each side run alongside each other near the midline, separated only by a thin layer of soft tissue. They extend from the nasal tip down toward the base of the columella, which is that narrow strip of tissue between your nostrils.
Their alignment and strength directly influence the projection and support of your nasal tip. If the medial crura are long and sturdy, the tip tends to project outward with good definition. Shorter or weaker medial crura can result in a droopy or under-projected tip.
Surgeons sometimes place a small columellar strut graft between the medial crura to add strength and improve tip support. This is one of the most common structural modifications performed during nose surgery, particularly for people whose tip lacks firmness or tends to droop with facial expressions.
8. Footplate
At the very base of the medial crus, where it meets the nasal spine and the floor of the nose, you’ll find the footplate. This is the flared, widened portion at the bottom end of the medial crus, and it’s clearly labeled in the basal view of the diagram.
The footplate rests against the caudal (lower front) edge of the nasal septum and helps anchor the tip cartilages to the central structure of the nose. It acts like a foundation, distributing the mechanical load of the tip and keeping the medial crura stable in their position.
Though often overlooked in basic anatomy discussions, the footplate is significant in surgical planning. Its size, shape, and relationship to the septum affect the overall symmetry and stability of the nasal base. An asymmetric footplate can contribute to a crooked-looking tip, even if the rest of the nasal framework is perfectly aligned.
