A longitudinal study of the growth of the nasopharynx and its contents in normal children

Abstract

The areas of the nasopharynx and its contents were measured on the lateral cephalometric radiographs of 41 normal children who were examined at yearly intervals for a minimum of 12 yr between the ages of 3 and 19. The means and SD of the areas of the nasopharynx, the soft tissues and the airway were calculated for each year from 3 to 11 and for alternate years to age 19. The size and shape of the soft tissues of individual children vary from year to year, and the anterior convexity changes to a concave shape with maturity. The soft tissues appear to grow more rapidly from 3-5 than does the nasopharynx, with a consequent decrease in size of the airway at this period. Subsequently, the soft tissue area remains relatively constant, while the nasopharynx increases in size so that the airway progressively enlarges. There is a significant difference between the sexes in the nasopharyngeal area from 13 onwards (P < 0.005).