[3] Paranasal sinuses form developmentally through excavation of bone by air-filled sacs (pneumatic diverticula) from the nasal cavity.

Such limited ventilation may be protective for the sinus, as it would help prevent drying of its mucosal surface and maintain a near-sterile environment with high carbon dioxide concentrations and minimal pathogen access.

Thus composition of gas content in the maxillary sinus is similar to venous blood, with high carbon dioxide and lower oxygen levels compared to breathing air.

[5] The paranasal sinuses are joined to the nasal cavity via small orifices called ostia.

These become blocked easily by allergic inflammation, or by swelling in the nasal lining that occurs with a cold.

[6] These conditions may be treated with drugs such as decongestants, which cause vasoconstriction in the sinuses; reducing inflammation; by traditional techniques of nasal irrigation; or by corticosteroid.