EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON CILIARY ACTIVITY OF MUCOSA OF UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT

Abstract

Recent literature relating to the normal activity of the cilia of the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract has been plentiful, but there have been only a few scattered references to the effects of drugs. It was with this thought in mind that the present work was undertaken. The immediate direct effect of the various drugs used daily in the nose on the speed and continuation of ciliary activity seemed both interesting and clinically important. As Yates,¹ Hilding² and Lucas³ have pointed out, the activity of the cilia is an important physiologic factor in the defense mechanism of the upper respiratory tract. It is evident that any agent which interferes with the normal activity is detrimental to this defense mechanism. Maxwell⁴ studied the effects of various inorganic salts on ciliated epithelium; Seo,⁵ the effects of changes in acidity of Ringer's solution and of changes in