Comparative structural organization of the glands of the mucous membrane of the inferior and posterior walls of the normal human frontal sinus

Abstract

The present paper was aimed at the study of the peculiarities of the mucociliary system of the mucous membrane normal human frontal sinus (FS). Cadaveric material obtained from people of both sexes aged 26 to 75 years who died of causes not related to pathology of the paranasal sinuses has been studied in accordance with international guidelines for biological research. After obtaining the mucous membranes of the FS, their fragments were fixed in phosphate buffered 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution and embedded in the Epon-812 epoxy resin. The obtained preparations were studied on the “Konus” light microscope, equipped with the Sigeta DCM-900 9.0 MP digital microphoto attachment and the Вiorex 3 (serial number 5604) software, adapted for the above studies. The resulting morphometric digital data were subject to statistical processing on a personal computer using the Statistica 13 and Microsoft Excel 2010 software packages. The investigated glands are complex alveolar-tubular glands, which consist of a system of excretory ducts with the acini. The findings of our study showed a certain difference between the structure of the acini of the glands on the inferior wall, where they were divided into 2 types. The first type is characterized by the formation of the acini by the cuboidal cells, and the second type by the pyramidal cells. By the secretory products, the glands of the inferior wall are defined as proteinaceous and mucous, and the glands of the posterior wall are mixed. The morphometry showed that the values of the average thickness (µm) of the submucous layer of the posterior wall (PW) on both sides were by 74% lower compared to the parameter for the inferior wall (IW). No significant difference in the outer diameter (µm) of the acini of the glands of the specified walls on both sides was found.