What Does Nasal Cavity Size Tell us about Functional Nasal Airways?
Résumé
Studies on dry human skulls have shown that nasal cavity (NC) morphology varies with eco-geographic factors. These findings have been used by some authors to interpret the facial morphology of Neanderthals. However, respiratory and air-conditioning functions are primarily carried out by the nasal airways (NA), which are delimited by mucosa. The aims of this study were to test whether: (1) NC volume (V) and surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA/ V) are proportional to NA counterparts; (2) measurements for male NC and NA are larger than in females; (3) the centroid size (CS) of a set of landmarks measured on NC provides a reliable proxy for NC V. Head CT (computed tomography) images of adult patients (N = 30) at the University Hospital of Bordeaux were selected retrospectively. NA were defined by segmenting the lumen corresponding to the functional volume. NC was defined by adding to NA the soft tissues delimited by the bones forming the NC. The coordinates of 16 landmarks measured on NC bones were recorded. A rather low correlation was found between NA and NC V while NA SA/V and NC SA/V were not correlated. No significant differences were found between male and female NA and NC measurements. A rather low correlation was found between NC Vand NC CS. If these preliminary results were to be confirmed by future studies, results using NC as a proxy for NA focusing on air-conditioning and respiratory energetics might need to be re-interpreted.
Domaines
Anthropologie biologiqueOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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