THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VOMERONASAL ORGAN IN THE PAKISTANI POPULATION

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is an essential functioning organ in some animals. There are reports of its presence in humans as well. This study on the Pakistani population sets out to chart out the physical characteristics of this organ. A total of 503 subjects were recruited for this study with 258 (51.3%) males and 243 (48.3%) females. The organ appears on the nasal septum in different forms. On an average the VNO could be identified positively in 46.3% of the subjects. The organ was positively identified in almost half of the subjects. The presence of the organ was seen more on the right side of the septum. The minimum height of the opening of the VNO from the nasal floor came out to be 0.35 cm (average) and the maximum to be 2.5 cm (average). The nasal septum was found to be deflected towards the right most of the time (45.2%). The vomeronasal duct was found to be from 1 – 3 mm in length in most of the cases where it was present. Future research should focus on the functional aspect of the vomeronasal organ in the Pakistani population.