Nasal disease: mechanisms and classification.

Nasal tissues can be affected by a greater variety of stimuli than is generally considered, stimuli which can produce many different diseases. The manner in which the nose can respond symptomatically and physically is limited so that symptoms and findings in different diseases frequently overlap and the conditions may be difficult to diagnose. An understanding of nasal diseases is only in its infancy. This report outlines some of these diseases and speculates about the presence of others. Classification of nasal disease is presented based on the suspected presence or absence of an immunological mechanism.