The word sinus derives from the Latin word that stands for “bay”, pocket”, “curve” or “bosom”. Anatomically, the world sinus is used to refer to a sack or cavity present in any organ or tissue. It can also refer to an abnormal cavity or passage that remains after the destruction of a tissue. Though there are 8 types of sinuses in the human body, generally the term is used to refer to the paranasal sinus. It is an air cavity in the cranial bone that connects the cranium to the nose. There are four paired cavities in the cranial bone of every person. The four cavities in the paranasal sinus can be described as follows:
There are many reasons that make these cavities vital for the human body. Some of these advantages are as follows:
Similar to the nasal cavity, the sinuses are lined with mucus secretions. The mucus secretions produced in the sinuses are swept to the nose by certain hair-like structure to the surface of the respiratory membrane. The paired sinuses are often asymmetrical and grow along with the skull’s growth. They are well developed by age 7 but don’t reach their maximum size until after puberty. Sinuses are susceptible to infections and inflammations and such issues are collectively termed as sinusitis. Sinusitis is a bacterial, fungal or viral infection, which causes pus and mucus to accumulate in the sinus. They can cause fever, headache, stuffy nose or even an impaired sense of smell. You can read more about sinusitis, it’s symptoms, causes and treatment here.