Ethmoid air cells
Cellulae ethmoidales
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- What it is
- A honeycomb of 3–18 small air cells in the ethmoid labyrinth, between the upper nasal cavity and the orbit, grouped as anterior, middle and posterior cells.
- Function
- Lighten the skull and drain into the middle and superior meatuses.
- Size
- Individual cells 2–10 mm; the labyrinth is ~4–5 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide.
- Clinical note
- The lateral wall (lamina papyracea) is paper-thin, so ethmoid sinusitis in children can spread into the orbit (orbital cellulitis).