Sinusitis afflicts an estimated 35 million Americans a year yet remains on of the most overlooked and misunderstood problems in clinical medicine. Clinical studies would benefit is populations of a particular racial origin were identified as being predisposed to this sinus disease. Climatic conditions is thought to influence a number of morphological traits on population that in effect gives these populations its signature of identification and thus its racial attributes. The objective of the proposed study is to investigate the effects of climate on the morphology of the nasal complex (nose, nasal cavity, and paranasal sinuses) in Macaca fascicularis and Macaca mulatta. macaques, rather than humans, are used for two reasons: 1) the migratory nature of recent human populations may preclude our using them as reliable models to test the long-term evolutionary relationship of climate to nasal morphology, and 2) these primate groups in effect, allow for a natural experimental setting of a basic investigation of the effects of climate on nasal complex. Though climate is thought to be a powerful selection force on the nasal region, many studies have been ambiguous. Previous efforts on the effects of climate have been limited to external craniofacial landmarks whereas this study approaches the question by assessing both internal dimensions and volumes in combination with more traditional external measures, which permits a markedly improved examination of nasal complex morphology. The testing of the hypothesis, made possible by these added methodologies, will unveil more about the interdynamics of the components of this intricate complex. Knowledge from this macaque study revealing the dynamics of these nasal components combined with information about the incidence, type, and degree of sinus afflictions that includes the racial origin of humans, could lead to further etiological and epidemiological insights of sinus infections. This could enhance the development of more focused medical targeting in both prevention and treatment to ensure a healthy functioning nasal complex.
| Marquez, Samuel; Laitman, Jeffrey T (2008) Climatic effects on the nasal complex: a CT imaging, comparative anatomical, and morphometric investigation of Macaca mulatta and Macaca fascicularis. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 291:1420-45 |
| Marquez, S; Mowbray, K; Sawyer, G J et al. (2001) New fossil hominid calvaria from Indonesia--Sambungmacan 3. Anat Rec 262:344-68 |
