The embryonic development of the human paraseptal cartilage

The paraseptal cartilage was first named by Spurgat in 1896. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the paraseptal cartilage of the lower and higher mammals was studied in great detail; however, very few studies were carried out on the human paraseptal cartilage. Over the past 20 years no articles have been published in the English literature on this topic. Despite all the early interest in this topic, several questions still remain unanswered about the origin of paraseptal cartilages, their ultimate fate (i.e. do they disappear or persist?) and their relationship with the vomer, the nasal capsule, and with Jacobson's organ. Eighteen human fetus heads ranging in age from eight to 32 weeks were studied and the literature reviewed. The development of the paraseptal cartilage and its clinical significance are discussed.