[The effect of laryngectomy on selected physiologic functions of the nose]

The paper is a continuation of the author's research on pathophysiology of the nose in patients subjected to total laryngectomy due to cancer of the larynx. The aim of the research was to discover how the condition of the nasal mucous and its physiology are affected by the elimination of the nose from the respiratory pathway which is the case in laryngectomy, and also the evaluation of the influence that the nose can exert on the physiology of the respiratory and circulatory systems, despite the elimination of the nose as a first section of the respiratory pathway. The research material was obtained from 110 patients who were subjected to total laryngectomy due to malignancy of the larynx and from a control group number of 30. The research was carried out before the surgery and in different periods after an operation. The condition of the nasal mucous was estimated on the basis of clinical examination including rhinoscopy, measurement of the warmth of the air in the nose and the temperature of the nasal mucous and also on the basis of observation of mucociliary transport. From patients who underwent laryngectomy a cytological material was obtained for examination. In all patients naso-cardiac and naso-pulmonary reflexes were examined. On the basis of the research it was stated that the morphological condition of the nasal mucous does not undergo significant changes despite the elimination of the nose from the respiratory pathway and the nose still maintains its potential ability to perform physiological functions. It can also be said that the elimination of the nose from the first section of the respiratory pathway not only does not remove reflex reactions from the side of the nose, but also often changes their course and character.