Paranasal Sinuses - Types in Humans

Types in Humans

Humans possess a number of paranasal sinuses, divided into subgroups that are named according to the bones within which the sinuses lie:

• the maxillary sinuses, also called the maxillary antrechea and the largest of the paranasal sinuses, are under the eyes, in the maxillary bones.
• the frontal sinuses, superior to the eyes, in the frontal bone, which forms the hard part of the forehead.
• the ethmoid sinuses, which are formed from several discrete air cells within the ethmoid bone between the nose and the eyes.
• the sphenoid sinuses, in the sphenoid bone at the center of the skull base under the pituitary gland.

The paranasal air sinuses are lined with respiratory epithelium (ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium).