OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to measure the dimensions of the nasal septal cartilage in adult Filipino Malay cadavers and calculate the cartilage area as well as the amount of graft material that can be harvested from the septal cartilage.

METHODS:
Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional
Setting: Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Medicine Anatomy Laboratory
Subjects: Ten preserved adult cadavers dissected within a period from September 2010 to October 2010. The septal cartilages were harvested and the lengths of the cephalic margin, dorsal margin, caudal margin and ventral margin were measured. From these measurements, the total area of the cartilage and the amount of graft material that can be harvested were calculated.

RESULTS: The mean length of each margin of the septal cartilage was 25.9mm (cephalic edge), 22.3 mm (dorsal edge), 21.4mm (caudal edge) and 33.1 mm (ventral edge). The area of the septal cartilage had a mean value of 652.5 mm². The amount of septal cartilage which can be harvested had a mean area of 403mm².

CONCLUSION: This study showed a slight decrease in septal cartilage area to 652.5 mm² and in available graft material to 403 mm². While this decrease may reflect the apparently smaller noses of native Southeast Asians compared to East Asians and South Asians, the difference in values can also be due to the difference in the number of subjects or in methods of measurement and further studies are recommended to determine the extent of inter-racial variability.