The Determination of Sphenoid Sinus Dimensions in Turkish Healthy Adult Subjects: An MRI Study/ Determinación de las Dimensiones del Seno Esfenoidal en Sujetos Adultos Sanos Turcos: Un Estudio de Resonancia Magnética

The aim of this study was to identify sphenoid sinus dimensions; and distance between columella nasal and sphenoid sinus; and columella nasal and hypophysis in healthy adult subjects using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to evaluate differences between genders and age groups. The MRI results of 300 healthy subjects (192 females; 108 males) aged 18-68 years were studied. The midsagittal and axial images were used for shape of the sphenoid sinus, and the distance measurements of its related adjacent structures on MRI. The mean values of the distance between columella nasal; and columella nasal and hypophysis; and sinus sphenoidalis width were 65.13[+ or -]5.22 mm, 81.05[+ or -]4.19 mm and 31.61[+ or -]8.40 mm in females respectively, whereas the same values were 11.19[+ or -]5.06 mm, 94.52[+ or -]6.01 mm and 41.95[+ or -]9.32 mm in males, respectively. The means of all measurements were lower in healthy female subjects than in healthy males. Additionally, the classification of sphenoid sinus types were determined to be postsellar type (131), sellar type (46), presellar type (14) and conchal type (1) in females, respectively. The same measurement were determined as postsellar type (82), sellar type (23) and presellar type (3) in males, respectively. Differences between sexes and age related changes were observed in the variations of the size, location and shape of sphenoid sinus were observed The observations presented in this report have defined anatomic parameters that need to be taken into consideration for reference data to determine gender discrepancies, age related changes and helpful for radiologists and clinicians to plan safe surgical approach and avoid surgical risks. KEY WORDS: Sphenoid bone; Sphenoid sinus; Magnetic resonance imaging. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar las dimensiones del seno esfenoidal y la distancia entre la columela nasal y el seno esfenoidal y, la glandula nasal y la hipofisis en sujetos adultos sanos con imagenes de resonancia magnetica (RM), para evaluar las diferencias entre los sexos y los grupos de edad. Se estudiaron los resultados de RM de 300 sujetos sanos (192 mujeres, 108 hombres) de 18 a 68 anos. Se usaron imagenes sagitales y axiales para la forma del seno esfenoidal y las mediciones de distancia de sus estructuras adyacentes relacionadas en la RM. Los valores medios de la distancia entre columela nasal; y columela nasal e hipofisis; y la anchura del seno esfenoidal fue de 65,13 [+ or -] 5,22 mm, 81,