Talk:Paranasal sinuses

more

more details of structure please. they are just empty pockets of air? how does the air get there? are they lined with tissue or Moo Hog are they just bone? hoopenings does each have? how do they becom e "pressurized"? etc etc- User:Omegatron

• The question above was posted in May 2005 and still has not been answered. Could someone please do so:
  • HOW DOES THE AIR GET IN THERE??
  • and, once in there - does it have constant contact with the outside air, or is it a one-off deal and then sealed forever?
  • and is it actual atmospheric air - 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, etc, including all the impurities and pollution, or does it somehow get filtered and stay filtered? if so, how?
  • also - what are the insides of the sinuses lined with - some special body fluid, or some skin-like tissue, or just dry bone? it has to be something - otherwise where woiuld the pus come from in sinusitis? is there a capillary blood supply to the lining of each, etc, or just some inorganic veneer like tooth enamel?
  • and what is the volume of each sinus? and are they all somehow joined to each other, or is each one a completely separate entity?
• ALL these points are quite relevant to the article, so could someone in the know PLEASE answer them. Thanx BigSteve (talk) 14:14, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

---

I beleive they are referred to as simply "air sinuses". Is that correct? - fnielsen 10:06, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

According to the Wikipedia article Semilunar hiatus, there are openings between the the nasal cavity and the maxillary and sphenoidal sinuses, thus the air, in those sinuses at least, circulates. From the point of view of Embryo development it would seem logical to assume the sinuses are originally quite small and filled with fluid and that the sinuses would drain after birth. The amount of fluid would be quite small. The anatomy of the face, as well as Embryolgy, is quite complex, and my assumptions are quite likely to be unfounded. The lining of the sinuses is, no doubt, epithelial mucous membrane with cilia. See the article, Cilium. The lining would be fairly similar to the inside of the nose. The blood supply to all facial structures is generous. The volume of the sinuses would be quite variable. Humans display great individuality according to age, gender, developmental influences and genetics. All the above is subject to correction. LFlagg (talk) 00:40, 17 December 2016 (UTC)

Vestigial anachronisms?

From a zoological persective, this sort of expression is viewed as a bit Victorian. It is certainly not very helpful especially when a number of functions are listed directly above. Tonsils and adenoids used to be viewed as vestiges before it was realised that they are a useful part of the lymphoid system. Can I suggest that the phrasing is changed? Jellytussle 19:40, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Bogus role of sinuses?

The Journal of Modern Vision Science doesn't appear to be a well-established journal. It is has no articles indexed by PubMed, its website shows no editors well-established in the field. Either it is a very new organisation or its a garden shed project. Whichever it is, I'd be wary of claiming that sinuses play "a role in moderating the influence of the respiratory system on the visual system" unless it is backed up with some more concrete evidence. - Pgr94 13:22, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. This belongs on the bad science page if anywhere at all. I have deleted it. Jellytussle 16:35, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Diagrams?

A diagram of the sinuses would really help me, could someone add one?

Must generalize this article

As the article is currently written, one would assume that paranasal sinuses are restricted just to humans. However, they occur across a number of animals. I would suggest restructuring the article to reflect this.Diceratops 15:11, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Other ailments?

Does anyone know if there has ever been a documented case of an adult with one or more missing sinus cavities (particularly the frontal cavities)? Is there a medical condition in which one or more sinus cavities are absent or extremely small?

Thanks

Gatecrasher13 04:38, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Reference to homeopathic remedy

The following reference

Homeopathic remedies, such as kali bichromicum may also be helpful for excessive, tough, stringy mucus in the sinuses.

was deleted shortly after being posted. Reason given by Jellytussle was "this is alt med". What criteria do we use for deciding whether to be inclusive under the term "Paranasal sinus" of all relevant medical information, vs. splitting it off and making it harder to find same information elsewhere?

I would like to suggest reinstating the disputed info.

Pgreene 15:03, 8 October 2007 (UTC)Pgreene

Can you show us a useful peer-reviewed journal article or trial to support the statement that this homeopathic remedy is of any use at all?Jellytussle 07:29, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

How about the following? Note that 'Kali bichromicum' is the Latin, and preferred homeopathic name, for 'Potassium Dichromate'.

Frass, MD, Michael (2005). "Influence of Potassium Dichromate on Tracheal Secretions in Critically Ill Patients". Chest. 127. American College of Chest Physicians: 936–941. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Pgreene 16:53, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but whatever the merits of that study, it is looking at tracheal secretions in critically ill patients. It has nothing whatsoever to do with paranasal sinuses. Can I suggest you try to get that one past the moderators of the chest/COPD/critical care pages?Jellytussle 10:19, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

Production of nitric oxide (NO)

I'm copying this extract here - for discussion - and perhaps this information should then be incorporated in this article. Seems a rather significant function for the paranasal sinuses, wouldn't you think?

Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2008 Oct 24;291(11):1479-1484.

Nitric Oxide and the Paranasal Sinuses.

Lundberg JO.

Karolinska Institutet, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Stockholm, Sweden.

The discovery within the paranasal sinuses for the production of nitric oxide (NO) has altered the traditional explanations of sinus physiology. This review article reports the ongoing investigation of sinus physiology beginning with the discovery of NO gas production in the paranasal sinuses that occurred in 1995, and the impact that finding has had both in the basic science and clinical arenas. It was shown that healthy paranasal sinus epithelium expresses an inducible NO synthase that continuously generates large amounts of NO, a pluripotent gaseous messenger with potent vasodilating, and antimicrobial activity. This NO can be measured noninvasively in nasally exhaled breath. The role of NO in the sinuses is likely to enhance local host defense mechanisms via direct inhibition of pathogen growth and stimulation of mucociliary activity. The NO concentration in a healthy sinus exceeds those that are needed for antibacterial effects in vitro. In patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and in cystic fibrosis, nasal NO is extremely low. This defect NO generation likely contributes to the great susceptibility to chronic sinusitis in these patients. In addition, the low-nasal NO is of diagnostic value especially in PCD, where nasal NO is very low or absent. Intriguingly, NO gas from the nose and sinuses is inhaled with every breath and reaches the lungs in a more diluted form to enhance pulmonary oxygen uptake via local vasodilation. In this sense NO may be regarded as an "aerocrine" hormone that is produced in the nose and sinuses and transported to a distal site of action with every inhalation. Anat Rec, 291:1479-1484, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 18951492 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Kanitz (talk) 17:48, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Sources

There are none. 129.1.199.183 (talk) 22:29, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Purpose/function

This article should state the purpose and/or function of the sinuses. If there is no known purpose nor function, this should be stated in the article. --Cowlinator (talk) 05:05, 10 June 2018 (UTC) Cowlinator (talk) 05:05, 10 June 2018 (UTC)

I agree. This article states what they do, or, their purpose: https://www.mysinusitis.com/blog/sinuses-what-are-they-and-what-do-they-do/. --User123o987name (talk) 18:02, 14 December 2019 (UTC)

Function

So what's the function of these things? I came here just to figure that out and it doesn't even say. You would think that would be in the first paragraph. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.145.243.154 (talk) 15:38, 30 June 2018 (UTC)