Age Differences of Human Frontal Sinus Measurements using CT Scan

Background and Objectives: The frontal sinus is regarded as one of the human paranasal sinuses located in the frontal bone as a triangular-shaped cavity, which originates as separated space from the anterior ethmoid cells. Computed Tomography (CT) is a completely non-destructive technique that uses a high density of contrast to identify the air inside any bony sinus with soft tissue demarcated by air within a particular nasal cavity. This study aimed to measure the anteroposterior length, width, and height of frontal sinus in different age groups of both genders with axial, coronal, and sagittal CT scans, as well as identifying the pneumatization of that sinus according to the extent represented by CT scans. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted on a random sample of 250 subjects attending the Radiology Section of both Baghdad Medical City and Salah Al-Deen Teaching Hospitals from February 2019 to January 2020. Different age and gender groups from these individuals underwent measurement of the anteroposterior length, width, and height of frontal paranasal sinus in axial, sagittal, and coronal CT scans. Results: The frontal air cells belonged to the anterior group including four types and one medial group with a prevalence of 37.6%, 18%, 16.8%, 6.8%, and 20.8%, respectively, through a series of CT scan sections. The mean values of frontal sinus length, width, and height for males were 19.8±8.7 mm, 32.8±8.7 mm, and 29.7±8.8 mm, respectively; and for females were 14.9±8.3 mm, 25.4±9.2 mm, and 22.5±9.2 mm, respectively. Conclusion: A high incidence of frontal sinus cell types and supraorbital cells suggested the superioposterior partition of frontal sinus which tends to demonstrate more pneumatization than other partitions.