Nasal Concha

In anatomy, a nasal concha (or turbinate) is a long, narrow and curled bone shelf (shaped like an elongated sea-shell) that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose. Turbinate bone refers to any of the scrolled spongy bones of the nasal passages in vertebrates.

In humans, the turbinates divide the nasal airway into four groove-like air passages, and are responsible for forcing inhaled air to flow in a steady, regular pattern around the largest possible surface of cilia and climate-controlling tissue. A rapidly dilating arteriolar circulation to these bones may lead to a sharp increase in the pressure within in response to acute cooling of the body core - the pain from this pressure is often referred to as "brain freeze", and is frequently associated with the rapid consumption of ice cream.