DISEASES OF THE SPHENOID SINUS: WITH REPORT OF A CASE OF CYST OF THE SPHENOID SINUS

Abstract

The sphenoid sinus is the most posterior and the least accessible of the nasal accessory sinuses. This anatomic situation as well as the close proximity of the sinus to many vital and vulnerable structures has hampered knowledge of abnormalities there and has aroused in many otolaryngologists well justified caution in exploration of this sinus. In a paper in the Laryngoscope, "The Sphenoid on Parade,"¹ Cavanaugh gave credit to Dr. Cornelius G. Coakley for the first published papers on the significance and difficulty of diagnosis of sphenoid disease. With the improvement in instruments, lighting, roentgenograms and surgical technic, the sphenoid sinus has emerged from the unknown. This paper will not attempt to encompass the knowledge of the embryology or anatomy of the sphenoid sinus or of the minute pathologic changes. Rather it will concern itself with the clinical pathology and symptomatology, especially as they are related to the neighboring structures. Particularly