A method for determination of blood flow with 133Xe in human nasal mucosa.

The 133Xe wash-out technique was used as a method for calculation of the blood flow in human nasal mucosa. The disappearance of 133Xe from the nasal mucosa was followed using scintillation detectors. In laryngectomies it was shown that the disappearance of 133Xe from the mucosa depended mainly on the blood flow. Leakage of 133Xe from the mucosa to the nasal air was unimportant. The disappearance rate of 133Xe was decreased by oxymetazoline and increased by histamine, mostly likely due to the effects of these vasoactive drugs on the mucosa blood flow. The 133Xe wash-out technique would seem to be a simple method to study nasal mucosal blood-flow changes in humans.