Bifid and secondary superior nasal turbinates.

The lateral nasal wall contains the nasal turbinates (conchae) which are used as landmarks during functional endoscopic surgery. Various morphological pos- sibilities of turbinates were reported, such as bifidity of the inferior turbinate and extra middle turbinates, such as the secondary middle turbinate. During a retrospective cone beam computed tomography study of nasal turbinates in a patient we found previously unreported variants of the superior nasal turbina- tes. These had, bilaterally, ethmoidal and sphenoidal insertions. On the right side we found a bifid superior turbinate and on the left side we found a secondary superior turbinate located beneath the normal/principal one, in the superior nasal meatus. These demonstrate that if a variant morphology is possible for a certain turbinate, it could occur in any nasal turbinate but it has not been yet observed or reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]