Selective Denervation of the Autonomic Nerve Supply of the Nasal Mucosa

Abstract

The autonomic innervation of the nasal mucosa has been studied in normal rats and in rats in which the supplying nerves had been selectively transected; postoperative survival times varied from 2 weeks up to 18 months. The vascular structures appeared to be innervated both by acetylcholinesterase- and noradrenalin-containing fibres. Furthermore a nerve plexus consisting of both types of fibres was observed in the subepithelial region. The nasal glands however showed only a cholinergic innervation. The pattern of the autonomic nerve supply deduced from these selective denervation experiments does not differ fundamentally from the generally accepted scheme of this system in the nose of other mammals. Denervation occurred within 2 weeks after transection of the supplying nerves, but after longer survival times reinnervation was observed.