VASCULAR RESPONSES OF THE NASAL MUCOSA TO THERMAL STIMULI WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SKIN TEMPERATURE

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Abstract
Nasal temp. and vol. changes in response to cutaneous chilling and warming were studied in a series of 37 normal, common-cold susceptible and hypersensitive human subjects. Local chilling characteristically results in a drop in nasal temp., with substantial return toward the initial level within a few mins. Local warming, after a transitory reflex drop, is generally followed by a permanently elevated nasal temp. so long as the stimulus is being applied. There is a rough parallelism between changes in nasal and finger temps. No systematic differences between normal and hypersensitive subjects were observed. Local chilling of a subject exposed to a high environmental temp. resulted in pro-nounced nasal hyperemia. With general cutaneous chilling and warming, 4 types of nasal response were observed, designated hyperemia, ischemia, turgescence, and release of turgescence. These changes are readily duplicated elsewhere in the body. The quantitative accuracy of the standard venous occlusion finger plethysmograph, especially at high rates of blood flow, is called into question.

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