Chronic maxillary sinusitis in Medieval Maastricht, The Netherlands

✍ Scribed by Raphaël G. A. M. Panhuysen; Vincent Coened; Tjasse D. Bruintjes

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 92 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1047-482X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1212(199711/12)7:6<610::aid-oa366>3.0.co;2-q

✦ Synopsis

We examined three populations from Medieval Maastricht for signs of chronic in¯ammatory disease of the maxillary sinus. The populations represent rural and urban communities with a different social status. Maxillary sinuses of 126 individuals were inspected macroscopically and, if necessary, with an endoscope. Osseous changes, including pitting and/or abnormal, spicula-type bone formation were present in 49 (38.9 per cent) individuals. We did not ®nd signi®cant differences in the prevalence of maxillary sinusitis between the three populations studied. In contrast to the present-day situation, we found dental infection to be a major cause of maxillary sinusitis. Such a dominance of odontogenic sinusitis makes it dif®cult to establish the effect of social conditions on (rhinogenous) maxillary sinusitis. # 1997 by