The vascular arrangement of the sinus mucosa. A study in rabbits.

Seventy-seven New Zealand White rabbits, with an average weight of 3 kg, were used in studies on the paranasal sinus. Replica moulds of the sinus revealed a sinus cavity composed of three compartments with a total volume of 2-3 ml. The sinus cavity was connected with the nasal cavity through an ostium. By intravascular injection of silicone rubber for dissection and of methacrylate for production of corrosion casts, the vascular bed and the vessels passing to and from the sinus cavity were studied. The main arterial supply and venous drainage takes place through the ostium, which is surrounded by a dense venous plexus. Compared with the nasal mucosa, the number of vessels per volume unit is about the same in the sinus mucosa. Many vessels perforating through the osseous walls, both arteries and veins, were found, however, indicating that the blood supply is not derived exclusively from vessels coming through the ostium.