Ultrastructural heterogeneity of the basophilic cells in the allergic nasal mucosa.

Basophilic cells in scrapings and pieces of nasal mucosa removed from the inferior turbinates of adult patients with house dust nasal allergy plus pieces of the oral mucosa from normal persons were examined electron microscopically. Three distinct types of basophilic cells, ie, blood basophil leukocytes (predominantly in the subepithelium), mucosal mast cells (predominantly in the epithelium), and connective tissue mast cells (predominantly in the deeper lamina propria) were identified in the nose.