COMPARATIVE MORPHOMETRY OF THE NASAL CAVITY IN RATS AND MICE

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  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 135  (AUG) , 83-88
Abstract
Although rats and mice are used extensively in inhalation research, normal morphological characteristics of the nasal mucosa have not been well documented. An understanding of the normal distribution and quantitative composition of epithelial types (squamous, respiratoiry and olfactory) in the nasal mucosa is essential before alterations resulting from a chemical induced injury can be fully appreciated. The distribution of the various epithelial types lining the nasal cavity in normal 7- and 16-wk-old Fischer-344 male rats and B6C3F1 male mice were mapped at the light microscopic level. Photographs of transverse sections of the nose were analyzed with a Zeiss Videoplan computerized image analyiss system programmed for measurement and evaluation of count, area, perimeter and length. In rats, the volume of the nasal cavity at 7 and 16 wk was 155.5 and 256.7 mm3, respectively; in mice, the nasal cavity volume remained essentially unchanged (32.5 and 31.5 mm3). Total surface area of the nasal cavity in rats at 7 and 16 wk was 798.6 and 1343.5 mm2, and in mice, 277.7 and 289.0 mm2. The percent of the nasal cavity surface lined by squamous, respiratory and olfactory epithelium was similar at both ages in both species. Baseline data was provided that can be used to help quantitate the dose of inhaled chemical researching the individual epithelial types and will be useful in understanding species differences in response to the same concentration of inhaled chemical. This methodology can also be used to quantitate changes in epithelial types (e.g., squamous metaplasia) occurring in subchronic and chornic inhalation studies.

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