Scanning Electron Microscopic Studies of Nasal Polyps

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Abstract
Nasal polyps yielded specimens, which technically were most suitable for study in the scanning electron microscope. A small number of glands and cytoplasm protuberances from the epithelial cells were found. 30% of the total surface was covered by cilia. The cilia looked normal with no signs of destruction. In half of the specimens, areas with widened intercellular spaces were observed. The surface of nasal polyps did not differ essentially from that of the inferior turbinate in patients with perennial rhinitis. It was, however, characteristic of the polyps that cells from a transitional-like epithelium protruded, dome-like, at the surface, resembling cobble-stones. Besides this, a great variation of the surface area of the cells was found, with the occurrence of large cells with a surface area of up to 150 μm2. Another characteristic feature was the occurrence of an irregular surface with an appearance resembling a hilly country, in which every uneveness consisted of several cells.