Influence of experimental rhino-sinusitis on olfactory epithelium

The pathology of olfactory epithelium in rhino-sinusitis caused by experimental bacterial infection was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Masses of non-ciliated or microvillous cells were observed on the marginal region of olfactory epithelium as spotted or insular lesions 1 week after onset of inflammation. These masses sporadically contained respiratory ciliated cells which might have replaced cells of olfactory epithelium during recovery from inflammatory damage. Prolonged inflammation with repeated flare-ups promoted the transformation to the respiratory ciliated epithelium at the margin of the olfactory epithelium and made the boundary between olfactory and respiratory epithelium intricate and obscure. The present study suggests that repeated infection with aging could be responsible for a decreased olfactory region.