title: CT Examination of Nose and Paranasal Sinuses of Egyptian Mummies and Three Distinct Human Population Groups: Anthropological and Clinical Implications.
abstract: The interaction of nasal morphology and climatic conditions has resulted in diverse hard- and soft-tissue configurations across human population groups. While the processes of skull pneumatization are not fully understood, the invasions of the paranasal sinuses [PNS] into the cranium have contributed to assorted morphologies. Human migratory patterns and the strong association with climatic variables through time and space may explain this diversity. This study examined four multiregional populations of which two are from Egypt but of widely divergent eras. Three Egyptian mummies [EG-M] from the middle kingdom were CT scanned providing a unique opportunity to investigate the status of PNS anatomy within a time frame from 1567 BCE to 600 CE and compare it to a contemporary Egyptian [EG] (n = 12) population. Dry skulls of Inuit [IT] (n = 10) and East African [EA] (n = 8) provide out-group comparisons, as one group represents an isolated geographic environment far different from that of Egypt and the other group inhabiting distinct environmental conditions albeit located within the same continent. Results showed EG-M and EG frontal sinus volumes were diminutive in size with no statistically significant difference between them. Maxillary sinus size values of EG-M and EG clustered together while IT and EA significantly differed from each other (P = 0.002). The multiregional groups exhibited population specific morphologies in their PNS anatomy. Ecogeographic localities revealed anatomical differences among IT and EA, while the potential time span of about 3,500 years produced only a negligible difference between the Egyptian groups. The small sample sizes incorporated into this research requires confirmation of the results by analyses of larger samples from each geographic region and with the integration of a larger group of Egyptian mummified remains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.|Department of Otolaryngology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Márquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mowbray
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Bradley N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Delman
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.|Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.|New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, New York.|Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Laitman
mesh_terms: D004534:Egypt; D006801:Humans; D009106:Mummies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009666:Nose / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D044382:Population Groups; D011859:Radiography
keywords: CT examination; Egyptian Mummies; frontal sinus; maxillary sinus; nasal complex; nose; paranasal sinuses