Plural of concha; anatomical term for shell-shaped structures, especially the curved bony ridges inside the nasal cavity that help filter and warm air.
Latin plural of concha, derived from Greek konkhē (shell). The term was borrowed directly into anatomical terminology because the structures literally resemble shells.
Your nasal conchae are tiny turbinates that warm, humidify, and filter the air you breathe—ancient anatomists named them 'shells' because of their curved shape, and that 1,000-year-old name stuck in modern medical terminology.
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