102 - Morphological Variations in the Nasopharynx and Nasal Cavity of Rhesus Macaques

Poster Board Number: 102
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Abstract Body : The nasopharynx is a component of the upper airway system that connects the nasal cavity to the oropharynx. The muscles of the nasopharynx are important for respiration, deglutition, and for equilibrating atmospheric pressure in the middle ear. The morphology of the nasopharynx varies between individuals, and these variations can cause conditions such as sleep apnea and asthma by affecting air intake capacity, for example. The purpose of this project was to assess the relationship of size and shape in the nasopharynx of macaques to determine whether size is constrained in the nasopharynx and whether shape is accommodating this size constraint. In Image J, we collected landmark data capturing the anatomy of the nasopharynx using middle sagittal slices of CT scans from 30 Rhesus macaques and extracted the cranial base angle. Coordinates included both soft and hard tissue landmarks. We also collected the sagittal cross-sectional area of the nasopharynx. Using Morpho J and Excel, we performed correlation tests between measured area, centroid size, cranial base angles, and Principal Component scores. Size of the nasopharynx was highly variable (262mm2, +/-76). Our tests showed no significant association between any measure of size and the shape of the nasopharynx or the nasal cavity (all R2< 0.1, P>0.05). Our results suggest that the constraints imposed by size requirements does not affect the shape of the nasopharynx or nasal cavity. Future work should focus on expanding the sample size, assessing body size, and incorporating sex into analysis.