Scanning electron microscopic examination of the nasal mucosa epithelium in atrophic rhinitis

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aimed to examine the ultrastructural characteristics of nasal mucosa in patients with atrophic rhinitis and reported our findings.

Methods: The biopsy specimens were obtained from two children and three adult patients, who had some or all of the classical manifestations of atrophic rhinitis. The tissue samples were prepared according to routine histological scanning electron microscopic tissue preparation procedure and examined using scanning electron microscope. The study was carried out in the electron microscopy laboratory of the Anatomy Department of Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, between February 2001 and March 2003.

Results: Squamous epithelium showing keratinization was observed in large areas. Additionally, desquamation of the horny cells of the nasal mucosa epithelium was found. The findings obtained in this study were in accordance with preview studies. Besides all these, we also observed accumulation of bacteria, especially the cocci in some focal regions. This accumulation of the bacteria may play a very important role in the etiology of the disease.

Conclusion: Depending upon to the difficulty of finding patients with atrophic rhinitis, even the few number of cases observed in this study will have an importance for the ultrastructural characteristics of the disease. 

Keywords

• nasal mucosa
• atrophic rhinitis
• ultrastructure
• scanning electron microscopy