{"title":"A comparative approach to bony changes in maxillary and frontal sinuses as indicators of upper respiratory health","authors":"Jeannette Becker , Sylvia Kirchengast","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.02.004","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The central aspect of this study is to provide a detailed comparison of bony changes in the maxillary and frontal sinuses in human skeletal remains in an effort to assist researchers record lesions and assist with potential diagnoses.</div></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><div>198 adult human remains from a medieval Avar population from Vienna, Austria.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Analysis of bony changes using an endoscopic multifunctional camera with an ultra-small lens and adjustable LED lights.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Most common findings in both the maxillary and frontal sinuses are “pitting” and “white pitted bone”. However, significant differences between the maxillary and frontal sinuses regarding the frequency and variation of bony lesions exist.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The maxillary sinuses exhibited significantly greater prevalence of bony changes compared to the frontal sinuses but frontal sinuses, which generally are less frequently affected by inflammatory, malignant, or benign lesions, may ultimately provide more informative insights in paleopathological studies concerning the health of the upper airways than the maxillary sinuses.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>Considering that most paleopathological studies on paranasal sinuses focus primarily on the maxillary sinuses, this study provides comparative data on the diversity of bony changes found in the frontal sinuses as a means to assist paleopathological recording and potentially eventual diagnosis.</div></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><div>The lack of knowledge about the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying individual bony features complicates interpretation, particularly in paleopathological studies.</div></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><div>A further examination of all paranasal sinuses (including the sphenoid sinuses and ethmoidal cells) is recommended.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":"49 ","pages":"Pages 1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Paleopathology","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981725000051","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
The central aspect of this study is to provide a detailed comparison of bony changes in the maxillary and frontal sinuses in human skeletal remains in an effort to assist researchers record lesions and assist with potential diagnoses.
Materials
198 adult human remains from a medieval Avar population from Vienna, Austria.
Methods
Analysis of bony changes using an endoscopic multifunctional camera with an ultra-small lens and adjustable LED lights.
Results
Most common findings in both the maxillary and frontal sinuses are “pitting” and “white pitted bone”. However, significant differences between the maxillary and frontal sinuses regarding the frequency and variation of bony lesions exist.
Conclusion
The maxillary sinuses exhibited significantly greater prevalence of bony changes compared to the frontal sinuses but frontal sinuses, which generally are less frequently affected by inflammatory, malignant, or benign lesions, may ultimately provide more informative insights in paleopathological studies concerning the health of the upper airways than the maxillary sinuses.
Significance
Considering that most paleopathological studies on paranasal sinuses focus primarily on the maxillary sinuses, this study provides comparative data on the diversity of bony changes found in the frontal sinuses as a means to assist paleopathological recording and potentially eventual diagnosis.
Limitations
The lack of knowledge about the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying individual bony features complicates interpretation, particularly in paleopathological studies.
Suggestions for further research
A further examination of all paranasal sinuses (including the sphenoid sinuses and ethmoidal cells) is recommended.
期刊介绍:
Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.