The authors have studied in the electron microscope the alter-ations of the nasal mucosa during the course of ozena. In the early-stages the following was observed:1) increase in the cytoplasmic digitations of the ciliated cells;2) increase in the number of mito¬chondria in the basal layer;3) appearance of wide spaces, filled with a non-mucinoid material, in the outermost layer of the epithelium;4) increase in the number and thickness of the stomi of the vessel walls. In the advanced stages the following was observed;a) increase in the thickness of the basement membrane and in the number of desmosomes;b) endothelial changes in the vessels;c) alterations of the collagen fibres;d) appearance of mitochondrial aggregates in the basal layer of the epithelium;e) changes in the Golgi apparatus in the muciparous cells and in the ergastoplasm of the serous glands;f) appearance of characteristic oval-shaped structures on the free surface;g) appearance of some bacteria in the crust. The authors comment on their observations and discuss the etiopathogenetic in¬terpretation of ozena.
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