Abstract
An: 2013, Nr.3, Articol Nr. 3
Title:
THE EVOLUTION OF PARANASAL SINUSES IN THE FETAL PERIOD, HIGHLIGHTED THROUGH ANATOMIC AND COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY METHODS
Authors:
G. Lupu, I. Bulescu, B. Diaconescu, B. Cristea, V. Panus, Laura Stroica, D. Popescu - University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Morphology, Anatomy Chair
THE EVOLUTION OF PARANASAL SINUSES IN THE FETAL PERIOD, HIGHLIGHTED THROUGH ANATOMIC AND COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY METHODS (Abstact): The evolution of paranasal sinuses extends over a long period of time, pre- and postnatal, at birth only the maxillary and some of the ethmoidal cells are developed. The goal of this study was to analyze and demonstrate which structures play a promoter role in the evolution and configuration of the paranasal sinuses, and if evolution is determined genetically or by local factors which modify their influence in different moments of prenatal development. Our study was performed on fetal skulls and cephalic extremities (with soft parts) from fetuses of different ages, ranging from 14 to 33 weeks, which were examined by CT and through anatomic, macroscopic and mezoscopic dissection techniques. Pieces were photographed and the images underwent digital processing. The analysis of CT images combined with their corresponding anatomic sections, digitally processed revealed that the soft tissues, especially the epithelial mucosa of the nasal fossae expand and they determine a certain rhythm and amplitude to the process of chondrification and ossification of the surrounding structures, structures which are more dense and take the shape and size of the soft parts surrounding them, in the rhythm these grow and develop. This process is later completed by partial resorbtion of mucosa through a genetic mechanism, often met in organogenesis, called apoptosis. In conclusion, the morphogenesis of the paransal sinuses is genetically determined, but it is also follows the “environmental theory”; the development of the sinuses is related to fetal cranial growth, through all three of its components (basal, capsular and bone resolution), the volume of pneumatic spaces being defined through a process of mucosal resorption, phenomenon which takes place in different moments of pre- and postnatal development (apoptosis).
Key words: PARANSAL SINUSES, PNEUMATIZATION, COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY