Sinuses are air-filled spaces in the skull and face that warm and humidify air, resonate the voice, and reduce skull weight. Humans have several sinuses, including the maxillary, frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses. Sinus disorders can cause nasal congestion and headaches, and in rare cases, breast cancer.
The sinuses are spaces within the bones of the skull and face that are filled with air. These open spaces are meant to warm and humidify the air we breathe, as well as resonate the voice. They also reduce the weight of the skull, which would be significantly heavier without these open spaces. The cells lining the sinuses also produce a mucus that traps inhaled pathogens and keeps the inside of the nose from drying out. Humans have several sinuses, located in various places around the eyes and nose.
Usually, we refer to the sinuses as simply our sinuses, for convenience. In reality, however, there are other types of sinuses in the skull as well. In the middle ear, for example, there are small sinuses, hence the term “paranasal sinuses” to differentiate them from the others. Because they only partially develop before birth, our sinuses continue to develop throughout our lives. This is true of almost all organisms with sinuses of any type.
The sinuses are arranged in four more or less symmetrical pairs from left to right. The maxillary sinuses are the largest and are located below the eyes on the inside of the cheekbones. Next largest are the frontal sinuses, located in the forehead above each eye. These are the last to develop, chronologically speaking; in some people, they don’t develop at all.
The ethmoid sinuses are much smaller than the other two pairs and are located behind either side of the bridge of the nose, near the eyes. The final pair are the sphenoid sinuses, located in the skull behind the internal nasal passage, above the throat. Each pair of sinuses is connected to the nasal passage by small tubes called ostia. Normally, these tubes allow mucus to drain harmlessly from the sinuses. When a person catches a cold, the sinuses and ostia become inflamed, blocking proper drainage and leading to nasal congestion and sinus headaches.
Other more serious disorders of these sinuses can also occur. In rare cases, breast cancer can develop. This is rare in Western nations but slightly more common in some other areas of the world including South Africa and Japan. Its exact causes have proven difficult to determine, but snuff use and long-term exposure to wood dust may be risk factors. Persistent breast pain and blockage are the most common symptoms of this cancer, which, like other cancers, has the best prognosis if it is diagnosed early and treated effectively.
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