Morphometric Analysis of Developing Maxillary Sinuses in Human Foetuses

The development of the paranasal sinuses, in human race and in many mammals remained as much an enigma as it did nearly two millennia ago. Morphometric analysis of maxillary sinuses in human foetuses are not fully documented and also their morphological studies in Indian population are non-existent. So the present study was conducted to determine the different diameters, the pattern of growth, sexual dimorphism and bilateral variations in maxillary sinuses. 37 human foetuses of different age groups (16 - 34 wks of IUL) were divided into five groups on the basis of age. Maxillary sinuses were dissected out from the nasal aspects of maxillae and their various diameters were measured with the help of Vernier callipers. The percent growth of AP diameter was +48% in 17-20 wks (p