Short nose
Page most recently updated 7 September 2026
This page focuses on short nose as a morphologic feature of conditions that may also be associated with psychiatric manifestations, such as psychosis, mania, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, OCD, and self-injurious behaviours. The page begins with a clinical definition of short nose based on the standardized Elements of Morphology terminology, together with visual examples from the same source. This is followed by a list of conditions in which short nose has been described in association with psychiatric manifestations.
Of note, to optimize clinical utility, the list does not include conditions associated with intellectual disability in the absence of other psychiatric features.
Each condition listed below is linked to a dedicated page within this resource. These pages describe the psychiatric manifestations associated with each condition, as well as other morphologic and broader clinical features, allowing the differential diagnosis to be considered from multiple perspectives.
Short nose
Please note that the nose in these images is reduced in absolute length. Accurate subjective assessment requires consideration of the nose in relation to the overall width and length of the face.
Image credit: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Elements of Morphology.
Definition
Subjective: Apparently decreased length from the nasal root to the nasal tip.
Objective: Distance from the nasion to subnasale more than 2 standard deviations below the mean.
Note: The length of the nose usually shows a relation with the length of the philtrum. The nose and philtrum together occupy the central face zone; a change of length of the one will usually be accompanied by a compensatory, opposite change in the length of the other. The nasion may be difficult to determine, in which case only the subjective assessment can be made. The nose continues to grow throughout life, contributing in adulthood to increases in length of the nasal ridge but not necessarily of the nasal length.
Replaces: Small nose (a small nose both has a decreased height and a decreased width).
Conditions with potential psychiatric associations
Selected references and further reading — Morphologic lens
Allanson JE, Biesecker LG, Carey JC, Hennekam RCM. Elements of morphology: introduction. Am J Med Genet A. 2009;149A(1):2-5.
Hennekam RCM, Biesecker LG, Allanson JE, Hall JG, Opitz JM, Temple IK, Carey JC; Elements of Morphology Consortium. Elements of morphology: general terms for congenital anomalies. Am J Med Genet A. 2013;161A(11):2726-2733.
Jones KL, Jones MC, del Campo M. Smith's recognizable patterns of human malformation. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.
Reardon W. The bedside dysmorphologist: a guide to identifying and assessing congenital malformations. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2016.