title: [The shape of the nasopharynx in youth: statistical study].
abstract: The particular shape of the nasopharynx in the child can influence morphology and physiopathologic behaviour of the mucosa. In such a perspective, it appeared interesting to evaluate the kind and the entity of its variations by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in 50 patients (age range: 2 months-16 years). The results show that the nasopharyngeal shape (represented either by bending radius and shape factor) varies in a statistically significant way during the considered age range, while the dimension of the pharyngeal tonsil remains constant in the studied cases. The statistically significant shape variation of the tonsil appears, so, related to its involvement in the shape variation of the whole nasopharynx.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Anatomia Umana Normale, Università di Sassari.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulisano
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Delrio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montella
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bandiera
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D012016:Reference Values
vernacular_title: La forma del nasofaringe nell'età evolutiva: studio statistico.