The turbinates are coiled in such a way that if you split them apart, they’d look like a seashell, which is how they got their other name, nasal concha, after the conch shell. Mollusks use their elaborately designed shells to filter impurities and keep invaders out. So do we. The lower turbinates at the opening of the nostrils are covered in that pulsing erectile tissue, itself covered in mucous membrane, a nappy sheen of cells that moistens and warms breath to your body temperature while simultaneously filtering out particles and pollutants. All these invaders could cause infection and
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