No abstract

Nasal mucous velocity was estimated by following the motion of radiopaque discs of Teflon by means of a fluoroscopic image intensifier. From 5 to 10 discs were deposited on the superior surface of the inferior turbinate with a forceps. No local anesthesia was employed and the subjects experienced no discomfort. The linear velocity of the discs was obtained by playing the videotape onto a television monitor, measuring distance with a ruler, and dividing by elapsed time. Duplicate runs of 1-2 min, 15 min apart were very reproducible but runs at 4-h intervals or daily over a 5-day period had a coefficient of variation of 30%. Average nasal velocity for individual ranged from 0 to 22.5 mm/min and group means ranged from 6. 8 to 10.8 mm/min. There was no statistically significant difference in nasal mucous velocity between young and elderly subjects nor was there a sexual difference. The saccharin test of nasal mucous transport was unsatisfactory because of inability to repeat the test more often than 1-2 h and its propensity to produce mild discomfort in a significant number of subjects. Saccharin times did not correlate significantly with values of nasal mucous velocity.

No abstract

Nasal mucous velocity and nasal airflow resistance were measured in nine healthy subjects before, during 5 min, and 1 h after submaximal exercise of 20 min with a cycle ergometer set in such a way that heart rate ranged from 125 to 135 beats/min. Nasal mucous velocity rose from a base line of 7.6-12.7 mm/min during exercise and returned to the base-line value 5 and 60 min after exercise. The mean expiratory nasal airflow resistance at a flow of 0.4 l/s decreased from a base line of 1.6-0.6 cmH2O . (l/s)-1 during exercise and returned to the baseline value 5 and 60 min after exercise.