|Outline of bones of face, showing position of air sinuses.|
|Gray's||subject #223 999| |Artery||infraorbital artery,
posterior superior alveolar artery| |Nerve||posterior superior
alveolar nerve, middle superior alveolar nerve, anterior
superior alveolar nerve, and infraorbital nerve| The pyramid
shaped maxillary sinus (or antrum of Highmore) is the largest of
the paranasal sinuses, and drains into the middle meatus of the
nose. It is present at birth as rudimentary air cells, and
develops throughout childhood. The maxillary sinus was first
discovered and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, but the
earliest attribution of significance was given to Nathaniel
Highmore, the British surgeon and anatomist who described it in
detail in his 1651 treatise. General characteristics  Found in
the body of the maxilla, this sinus has three recesses: an
alveolar recess pointed inferiorly, bounded by the alveolar
process of the maxilla; a zygomatic recess pointed laterally,
bounded by the zygomatic bone; and an infraorbital