Bailie Neil, Hanna Brendan, Watterson John, Gallagher Geraldine
Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery, Antrim Area Hospital, 45 Bush Road, Antrim BT41 2RL, Northern Ireland.
Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2009 May-Jun;23(3):244-9. doi: 10.2500/ajra.2009.23.3308.
A friction force is generated when moving air contacts the nasal walls, referred to as wall shear stress. This interaction facilitates heat and mass transfer between the mucosa and air, i.e., air-conditioning. The objective of this research was to study the distribution of wall shear stress within the nasal cavity to identify areas that contribute significantly to air-conditioning within the nasal cavity.
Three-dimensional computational models of the nasal airways of five healthy subjects (three male and two female subjects) were constructed from nasal CT scans. Numerical simulations of nasal airflow were conducted using the commercial computational fluid dynamics code Fluent 6 (Ansys, Inc., Canonsburg, PA). Wall shear stress was derived from the numerical simulation. Air-conditioning was simulated to confirm the relationship with wall shear stress.
Nasal airflow simulations predicted high wall shear stress along the anterior aspect of the inferior turbinate, the anteroinferior aspect of the middle turbinate, and within Little's area.
The airflow simulations indicate that the inferior and middle turbinates and Little's area on the anterior nasal septum contribute significantly to nasal air-conditioning. The concentration of wall shear stress within Little's area indicates a desiccating and potentially traumatic effect of inhaled air that may explain the predilection for spontaneous epistaxis at this site.
当流动的空气与鼻壁接触时会产生摩擦力，称为壁面剪应力。这种相互作用促进了黏膜与空气之间的热量和质量传递，即空气调节。本研究的目的是研究鼻腔内壁面剪应力的分布，以确定对鼻腔内空气调节有显著贡献的区域。
根据五名健康受试者（三名男性和两名女性受试者）的鼻腔CT扫描构建鼻腔气道的三维计算模型。使用商业计算流体动力学代码Fluent 6（Ansys公司，宾夕法尼亚州坎农斯堡）对鼻腔气流进行数值模拟。从数值模拟中得出壁面剪应力。模拟空气调节以确认与壁面剪应力的关系。
鼻腔气流模拟预测在下鼻甲前部、中鼻甲前下部以及利特尔区存在高壁面剪应力。
气流模拟表明，下鼻甲、中鼻甲以及鼻中隔前部的利特尔区对鼻腔空气调节有显著贡献。利特尔区内壁面剪应力的集中表明吸入空气的干燥和潜在创伤作用，这可能解释了该部位自发性鼻出血的倾向。
