Anatomical variations of the maxillary sinus and their relationship with pathologies of surrounding structures: A literature review

Abstract

IntroductionAnatomically, the maxillary sinus (MS) and maxillary bone is a complex structure to study, due to its walls and its communication with different structures such as the respiratory system, upper teeth and the orbital cavity, specifically the floor of this cavity and the inferomedial region. The MS is a pneumatic cavity housed within the body of the mandible that communicates with the nasal cavity through the ostium at the middle nasal meatus.MethodsThis literature review seeks to describe the characteristics of the anatomical variations of the region of the maxillary sinus, The search process was carried out in the following databases; MEDLINE, SCIELO, WOS, CINHAL, SCOPUS and GOOGLE SCHOLAR, using as search terms; “Maxillary bone”, “Maxillary sinus”, “Paranasal sinus”, “Anatomical variations”, “Sinusitis” and “Clinical anatomy”.ResultsDifferent anatomical variations of the sinus and maxillary bone were found, being mainly the anterior and medial maxillary regions, those that presented the greatest number of variations in their walls or external and internal structures, from the clinical point of view, there are variations that can cause sinusitis, some types of tumors or affect neighboring structures that can be compromised by this variation.ConclusionThe results obtained in this review show that MS is a complex anatomical structure for its study, which is why it is also certainly complex to be able to distinguish the presence of anatomical variations or pathological abnormalities. Therefore, the knowing the different variations and the possible clinical relationship of these can be very useful for the clinical practice of medical personnel who are dedicated to this region.