The distribution of thermoreceptors within the nasal cavity.

The distribution of thermoreceptors within the nasal vestibule (that part of the nasal cavities lined with skin) and nasal cavum (that part of the nasal cavities lined with respiratory epithelium) was studied in 20 subjects. The distribution was compared with that of the malar skin adjacent to the nose. No thermoreceptors were located in the nasal cavum but the nasal vestibule contained a dense distribution of cold receptors (3.5 receptors per cm2) and warm receptors (3.2 receptors per cm2). The corresponding density of receptors in the malar skin was 2.7 receptors per cm2 and 2.6 receptors per cm2. The difference in distribution density between the nasal vestibule and the malar skin was significant (P less than 0.05). The implications of these findings are discussed.