鼻中隔粘膜の微細血管構築に関する研究

抄録

In mammals, the nasal mucosa is divided into the respiratory and olfactory regions. It is considered that the respiratory region had a function of adjusting the temperature and humidity of inspired air. The vascular morphology and structure of the respiratory region have been described. However there have been few reports on the vascular arrangement of the olfactory region. The purpose of the presest study is to clarify the vascular arrangement of the nasal septum, especially the olfactory region in rabbits and rats. Continuous sections of the nasal septum were observed by light microscopy, and comparisons were made of the vascular morphology between the two regions. Microvascular corrosion casts were made using methyl-methacrylate (Mercox ®), and observed by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In the respiratory region, numerous vessels were observed in the entire width of the lamina propria, displaying various profiles. On the other hand, fewer vessels were observed in the olfactory region. The vessels were located in the deeper layers of the lamina propria, running posterio-anteriorly. The rich vascular network was mainly composed of several arteries running bach and forth, and spiral vessels, which are branches of the thick vessels, radially extending anterio-superiorly. While the former had few connections with other vessels, the latter had numerous connections and branches. In the superficial layers in particular, small vessels constituted the cubic network. The morphology of the medial (septal) side differed from that of the lateral (cavum) side. The medial side showed straight running arteries, and around these a network of small vessels was seen both in the respiratory and olfactory regions. The lateral side of the submucosal vascular cast showed an enormous network only in the respiratory region, which therefore could be distinguished from the olfactory region not so rich vessels. In the olfactory region, vessels mainly ran posterio-anteriorly and had scanty connection with each other. It is considered that the microvascular arrangement of the respiratory region favors the adjustment of temperature and humidity of inspired air more than that of the olfactory region. In rabbits, no change was observed in the microvascular arrangement after repeated nasal irrigation with aqueous solution of zinc sulfate.