Anatomy of alar cartilages in blacks

We conducted a morphologic and anatomic study on 24 alar cartilages in 12 Black American male cadavers. Measured parameters included the greatest height and width of each lateral crus and the distance of the caudal boarder of the lateral crus from the alar rim. The average height of the lateral crura was 1.2 cm and the average width was 1.8 cm. These measurements approximate those reported for Caucasians. They suggest that contrary to popular impression, the alar cartilages in Black Americans as a group may not be significantly smaller than in Caucasian Americans. The Black American alar cartilages in our study were found to be approximately the same distance from the nostril rim as those in the Caucasians. Three morphologic types of alar cartilages were found in our study. The most common shape was the convex-concave, found in 50%, followed by the smooth convex shape (33.3%). The simple-symmetrical and simple-interlocking (male-female) relationships of the medical crura were found in 50% and 41.7% of our specimens, respectively. There was one specimen of complex-interlocking (complex-symmetrical) relationship. These findings were compared with those described in Caucasians. The variability in the width of the alar cartilages in our study was found to be consistent with our division of the Black American nose into three types: type A (African), type B (Afro-Caucasian) and type C (Afro-Indian). The clinical significance of the results is discussed.