Methods for obtaining specimens from the nasal mucosa for morphological and biochemical analysis

The nose is the part of the airway system which is most easily accessible for morphological and pathophysiological evaluation of changes occurring as a response to various stimuli. During recent years several new atraumatic techniques for harvesting cells for morphological and biochemical analysis have been introduced, in addition to the more well known surgical biopsy procedures and nasal smears. Such techniques include nasal lavage, scrapings from the nasal mucosa, brush techniques and imprints. Several of these techniques allow repeated samplings, obtaining quantitative as well as qualitative information as to the cells present on the surface of, as well as within, the epithelial lining of the nasal mucosa. Some techniques provide the investigator with a method for obtaining information on the cellular content of certain biochemical markers such as histamine. The present review describes the merits and disadvantages of the old and new methods and provides guidelines as to when each method should be considered.