Variations of the paranasal sinuses in Melanesians as observed by CT

Studies have reported the incidence of anatomical variants of the paranasal sinuses for specific populations with a view to helping surgeons avoid possible complications during functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Some have found significant variation when comparing different populations. The current study has used computed tomography (CT) scans to observe variations in the paranasal sinuses in a non-random sample of museum skulls of Melanesians, a racial group that has not previously been studied in this respect. The incidence of variants found were: agger nasi cells 59.5%, concha bullosa 41.5%/o, Haller's air cells 31.7%, internal carotid artery bulge in the sphenoid sinus 23.8%/, supraorbital cells 16. 7%, paradoxical curvature of the mid-dle turbinate 7.5% and pneumatization of crista galli 7.1%.Because of contradictory findings in the literature as to the incidence of such variations between racial groups the authors are able to make only limited meaningful comparisons between their subjects and other such groups.