When Do Nasal Bones Ossify?

Ossification. The nasal bones ossify from a single center which appears early in the third month within the cartilaginous nasal capsule, which can be assessed during the 12^th-week prenatal scan for nasal bone appearance. Its absence is associated with Down syndrome.

What week does nasal bone form?

At the time of the first trimester 11–13⁺⁶ weeks scan, the fetal nasal bone is visualized in the mid-sagittal section of the fetal face as an hyperechogenic line parallel to the nasal skin.

How does the nasal bone grow?

After 1 year of age, the bone starts to increase in length in its lower part, so that by puberty it is about three times as long as it is wide. The serrated superior border develops after the age of 3 years at about the time that ossification is proceeding inferiorly in the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid.