Morphological and histochemical aspects of the nasal glands in the rat.

The secretory characteristics of the glands in both the lateral nasal wall and the nasal septum of the rat have been studied with a variety of morphological and histochemical techniques. The main part of the glandular tissue in the lateral nasal wall is situated around the ostium of the maxillary sinus and can be divided in a dorsal, simple branched acinous glandular part and in a ventral, very branched tubulo-acinous glandular part.. No further morphological differences can be observed with light microscopical techniques. The glandular tissue on the nasal septum consists of a large, branched tubulo-acinous gland, occupying an extensive portion of the septum. By using various histochemical staining techniques for glycoproteins, 3 different areas can be distinguished, suggesting that the nasal glands produce different types of secretory products.