Maxillary sinusitis is a common medical complaint, affecting more than
30 million people per year in the United States alone. Very little pa
laeopathological work on this disease has been carried out, probably b
ecause of the enclosed nature of the sinuses in intact skulls and the
lack of a suitable method for examination. This study tested the hypot
hesis that maxillary sinusitis was more common in people with leprosy
than in people without it in Medieval England. The prevalence of maxil
lary sinusitis by age and sex was recorded in 133 individuals, some di
agnosed as being leprous, derived from a later Medieval (12th to 17th
centuries AD) urban hospital population at Chichester, Sussex, England
using both macroscopic and endoscopic methods of examination. Of the
133 individuals with one or both sinuses available for examination, 54
.9% (73) had evidence of bone change within the sinuses. There was no
difference in prevalence between those with leprosy and those without,
although clinical studies suggest that over 50% of lepromatous leprou
s individuals may develop sinusitis. Comparison with another study on
Medieval British sites with a 3.6% prevalence (3 of 83) indicates that
the prevalence at Chichester is much greater. The problems with diagn
osing sinusitis are addressed and reasons behind the high frequency in
this study are discussed. Aetiological factors predisposing to maxill
ary sinusitis are considered with reference to possible environmental
conditions prevailing in the later Medieval period in Britain. (C) 199
5 Wiley-Liss, Inc.