[Quantitative exfoliative cytologic studies of the human nasal mucosa]

A new method for collecting nasal secretions yields quantitative cytological results of human nasal secretions. The new results are compared with the conventional methods for obtaining nasal smears by cotton or replica technique. The best staining method is a modified May-Grünwald stain. With the new method, a large area of nasal mucosa is examined contrary to the previous methods where punctual examinations only were possible. Moreover, because the total number of cells can be counted, accurate quantification of individual cell fractions and differentiation of the nasal smears can be effected.