[The subtle anatomical structures of normal nasal bone in MSCT image and forensic identification]

To summarize the subtle anatomical structures of the normal nasal bone in multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) image through the observation of the three-dimensional images.

One hundred and twenty volunteers who had no nasal trauma and disease history were collected. The nasal was scanned using MSCT. Raw data was reconstructed into bone window images (slice thickness 0.6 mm, slice interval 0.5 mm), and then the images were imported into Syngo Imaging XS software to reconstruct three-dimensional images and to summarize the nasal bone's subtle anatomical structures.

The subtle anatomy of normal nasal bone generally included four seams, two holes and one edge. The four seams were left and right nasal-maxillary suture, nasal-frontal seam, and internasal suture. The two holes were left and right nasal aperture. The edge of the nasal was the lower edge of the nasal bone. In addition, there was suture bone in internasal suture in some normal nose. The nasal aperture mostly was hole-like, but some nasal apertures were line shape. The nasal edge can be divided into flat type, wave-shaped type, inverted spike type, hook-shaped type and others.

The anatomy diversity and individual differences in nasal bone are large. MSCT and three-dimensional image reconstruction techniques, combined with the history of trauma could distinguish between the normal anatomy and fractures.