The Paranasal Sinuses: The Last Frontier in Craniofacial Biology

Abstract

This special issue of the Anatomical Record explores the presence and diversity of paranasal sinuses in distinct vertebrate groups. The following topics are addressed in particular: dinosaur physiology; development; physiology; adaptation; imaging; and primate systematics. A variety of approaches and techniques are used to examine and characterize the diversity of paranasal sinus pneumatization in a wide spectrum of vertebrates. These range from dissection to histology, from plain X-rays to computer tomography, from comparative anatomy to natural experimental settings, from mathematical computation to computer model simulation, and 2D to 3D reconstructions. The articles in this issue are a combination of literature review and new, hypothesis-driven anatomical research that highlights the complexities of paranasal sinus growth and development; ontogenetic and disease processes; physiology; paleontology; primate systematics; and human evolution. The issue incorporates a wide variety of vertebrates, encompassing a period of over 65 million years, in an effort to offer insight into the diversity of the paranasal sinus complexes through time and space, and thereby providing a greater understanding and appreciation of these special spaces within the cranium.

Comparative morphology of porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) pterygoid sinuses: Phylogenetic and functional implications

“…The air sinus system in cetaceans consists of paired vascularized sinuses extending from just anterior to the ear (tympanoperiotic) region, originating as a diverticulum of the Eustachian tube, into the pterygoid and palatine bones in the ventral skull (Fraser and Purves, 1954, 1960; Mead and Fordyce, 2009). Reidenberg and Laitman (2008) refer to the system as “pterygoid sacs.” However, in keeping with terminology used by previous workers who define the air sinus system as an extension of the middle ear cavity (Fraser and Purves, 1960; Mead and Fordyce, 2009), and because it is entirely contained within bone medially and connective tissue and venous plexuses laterally and ventrally, this study refers to the ventral air sinus system as a whole, and the pterygoid sinus and associated diverticula as “sinuses.” The air sinus system is assumed to be a cetacean synapomorphy because the entire paranasal sinus complex was lost in the process of the telescoping of the skull and corresponding “flattening” of the maxillae and frontal bones (Reidenberg and Laitman, 2008; Mead and Fordyce, 2009). The exact homologies of the sinuses have not been comprehensively studied; however, Murie (1873) noted that the cetacean pterygoid sinus may be homologous with the maxillary, frontal, and sphenoidal sinuses of terrestrial mammals, while Kellogg (1936) proposed homology between the pterygoid sinuses and the lateral diverticula of the pharynx found in many ungulates.…”

“…The exact homologies of the sinuses have not been comprehensively studied; however, Murie (1873) noted that the cetacean pterygoid sinus may be homologous with the maxillary, frontal, and sphenoidal sinuses of terrestrial mammals, while Kellogg (1936) proposed homology between the pterygoid sinuses and the lateral diverticula of the pharynx found in many ungulates. Mead and Fordyce (2009) suggest that some cranial foramina in living cetaceans are vestigial and possibly associated with the paranasal sinuses. The rostral portion of the pterygoid sinus was present in some archaic cetaceans (e.g., protocetids, Gingerich, 2005), while the pterygoid, peribullary, maxillary and frontal sinuses were present in basilosaurid archaeocetes (Kellogg, 1936; Uhen, 2004).…”

“…The air sinus system is complex and interconnected, and in addition to the pterygoid sinus sensu stricto includes other named chambers: the anterior sinus, peribullary sinus, caudal sinus, and middle sinus (Beauregard, 1894; Fraser and Purves, 1960; Cranford et al, 2008b; Mead and Fordyce, 2009; Cranford et al, 2010). The sinus system is laterally and ventrally contained within fibrovenous plexuses supplied by retia and other vasculature, described by Costidis and Rommel (2012), that abut the pterygoids, palatines, basisphenoids, and alisphenoids in the medial skull, while the peribullary sinus is dorsally restricted by the dura mater (Fraser and Purves, 1960; Mead and Fordyce, 2009). The lateral limits of the pterygoid sinuses in the sphenoidal regions sometimes ossify (Fraser and Purves, 1960; Geisler and Luo, 1998; Rommel et al, 2006).…”

“…The pterygoid sinus sensu stricto consists of several diverticula including the preorbital and postorbital lobes, which are visible externally on the ventral skull and located rostrally and caudally to the orbital region of the skull, respectively, as well as the hamular lobe which is contained within the medial and lateral lamina and pterygoid hamulus of the pterygoid bone (Fig. 1, po, pp; Fraser and Purves, 1960; Reidenberg and Laitman, 2008; Cranford et al, 2008b; Mead and Fordyce, 2009). In phocoenids, the preorbital lobe extends dorsally between the rostral part of the frontal bone and the facial portion of the maxillae, although prior to this study description and quantification of this region of the sinus was limited (Fraser and Purves, 1960; Fajardo‐Mellor et al, 2006; Mead and Fordyce, 2009).…”

Hippocrates and paranasal sinuses: what the Father of Medicine knew about them

“…Именно ему S. Márquez (2008) приписывает честь открытия этмоидального синуса, отмечая при этом, что он не «идентифици ровал его по имени» [15]. Это утверждение не соот ветствует истине, в чем легко можно убедиться, про читав труды самого К. Галена.…”