title: Concha Bullosa in Paleoanthropological Material.
abstract: Concha bullosa is a variant of the sinonasal anatomy in which the middle nasal turbinate contains pneumatized cells, which leads to turbinate enlargement. The reason for concha bullosa formation is unclear, but the variant is seen in up to half the modern population and it may predispose to paranasal sinusitis. The variant has hitherto featured little in paleopathology. Therefore, in the present study we seek to determine the presence of concha bullosa, with the coexisting hypertrophy of the middle turbinate and signs of sinusitis or other pathology of the paranasal complex, in a population living in Tomersdorf-Toporow in the Upper Lausatia, a historical region in Germany and Poland, presently Zgorzelec County in the Lower Silesian voivodeship, at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century. The material consisted of 32 skeletons (24 males, 8 females). The gender, age, and stress indicators and the presence of pathological signs were assessed, followed by CT of the skulls. We found 2 skulls (6.3 %) with concha bullosa. In one case septal nasal deviation was present. We conclude that the incidence of concha bullosa could be lower in the past times than at present. Wider research is necessary to settle whether concha bullosa is indeed a rare respiratory paleopathology or a missed, and thus underreported observation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University, 72 Al Powstańców Wlk. Street, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland. gawlikow@pum.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gawlikowska-Sroka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szczurowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.|Archaeological Conservation Laboratory Antiqua, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Konczewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Pomeranian Medical University, 72 Al Powstańców Wlk. Street, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dzieciołowska-Baran
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention Radiology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donotek
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention Radiology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walecka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nowakowski
keywords: Concha bullosa; Middle turbinates; Paleoanthropology; Paranasal sinuses; Sinusitis