ANATOMICAL CORRELATIONS OF THE PALATO-ALVEOLAR COMPLEXES AND MAXILLARY SINUSES IN ADULT PERSONS

To detect the anatomical correlations between the form of the palato-alveolar complex and the shape and degree of pneumatization of the maxillary sinuses, skull frontal saw cuts obtained from 60 adult persons were studied at the level of the second molars. The form of the palato-alveolar complex was found to change significantly with the loss of teeth. Thus the palato-alveolar complex with well expressed alveolar process of the upper jaw and high palatal vault more often corresponded to the maxillary sinus of a trihedral or uncertain form with the varying degrees of pneumatization. The palato-alveolar complex with a considerable atrophy of an alveolar process of the upper jaw and the flat palate was accompanied by the hyperpneumatitized sinuses of a tetrahedral form, while the transitional form of the complex which was observed in cases of partial loss of the teeth, was combined with the asymmetry of the form and degree of a pneumatization of the sinuses. These correlations are important for oral and maxillofacial surgery and dentistry.

palato-alveolar complex, bony palate, alveolar process, loss of teeth, maxillary sinus