The diagnostic value of intranasal tests in allergic rhinopathy

The method of the intranasal test, used by us, is described. It consists in a direct application of the allergen, which is presumed after a pilot-skin-test. The resulting reaction is documented by rhinomanometry. The special technical aspects of the test and the sources of error are emphasized.

Tunica propria in chronic allergic rhinitis. Electron-microscopic study II. The sero-mucinous glands

The fine structure of human nasal sero-mucinous glands was studied in 15 chronic allergic patient. There was total absence of the mucous glands, and proliferation of seroud elements, with hugely dilated lumina containing large numbers of intact zymogen granules, and absence of microvilli. The relation between the goblet cells and the nasal glands was discussed. An interchange between the serous and mucous elements was deduced.

Tunica propria in chronic allergic rhinitis. Electron-microscopic study. I. The nasal blood vessels

The fine structure of human nasal blood vessels was studied in 15 chronic allergic patients. The venules showed gaping of the interendothelial junctions and lamination of the basal lamina. The capillaries displayed numerous endothelial cytoplasmic processes. The arteriolar walls showed thinning and destructive changes. A reciprocal relation between the vascular endothelium and its basal lamina was deduced.

The allergic nasal mucosa following vidian neurectomy. Electron microsopic study

The fine structure of the allergic nasal mucosufollowing vidian neurectomy was studied in 15 patients. The structure of the mucous glands, venules, arterioles and tunical cellular elements returned to normal 1 month after the operation, while that of the epithelium and of the capillaries only 3 months post-operatively. The effect of interrupting the hyperactive cholinergic nerve impulses on the various constituents of the nasal mucosa is described.

Cytologic evaluation of the nasal epithelium in patients with hay fever

Seventy two cases of hay fever which were confirmed by scratch tests were used to estimate the state of the epithelium of the mucous membrane of the nose. Cells of the respiratory eptihelium were found in smears from the surface of the mucous membrane in 79per cent of the cases of hay fever. Compared with nose smears from the control group, nose smears from patients with hay fever contained many more cells, predominantly goblet cells. In the cases of hay fever, a very rich cellular material was discovered in the smears from the surface of the mucous membrane of the nose. The chief characteristic feature of those cells is that they appear in clusters. Numerous cells from the respiratory epithelium, mostly goblet cells, were found in nose smears from patients with hay fever. The patterns of smears observed in patients with hay fever are helpful to us in the differential diagnosis in the rhinological laboratory.

Recent advances in the pathology of olfaction

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Human nasal epithelium and cellular elements in chronic allergic rhinitis. Electron-microscopic study

The fine structure of human nasal respiratory epithelium and tunical cellular elements was studied in 15 chronic allergic patients. The epithelium showed characteristic morphological details suggestive of oedematous infiltration occurring in these cases. Eosinophils, mast cells and plasma cells showed ultrastructural changes explaining the role played by each of them in allergic rhinopathies.