TUMORS of the maxillary sinus, excluding the various cysts found in this region, are relatively uncommon in the experience of most rhinologists. Probably less than 2% of all malignant tumors of the upper respiratory and alimentary tracts involve this structure. Many benign tumors are even more rarely observed. Sjöberg, for example, up to 1934 was able to collect 343 cases of osteoma of the sinuses, mostly involving the frontal group, but Rawlins1 reviewing the world literature up to 1940 found only 32 reported cases of osteoma of the maxillary sinus. Reports of chondroma, myxoma, and fibroma are correspondingly infrequent. These various tumors not only exhibit clinical and pathologic characteristics of considerable interest but may also present complicated problems in diagnosis and management.
PATHOLOGIC BACKGROUND
The embryologic development of the upper teeth and maxilla introduces both ectodermic and mesodermic elements in complex formations and favors the occurrence of cell rests