Which turbinate is formed by a separate facial bone rather than by the ethmoid bone?
- A Superior turbinate
- B Middle turbinate
- C Inferior turbinate ✓
- D Supreme turbinate
Correct answer: C. Inferior turbinate
Explanation
The superior, supreme, and middle turbinates are all parts of the ethmoid bone, whereas the inferior turbinate is an independent facial bone attached to the maxilla, lacrimal, palatine, and perpendicular plate of the ethmoid. This distinction matters surgically because inferior turbinate reduction involves an independent bone, and because the inferior meatus beneath it carries the opening of the nasolacrimal duct.
Reference: Gray's Anatomy, 42nd ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.