General Medical Information

Mucociliary Function

Thomas V. Mccaffrey

The mucociliary system is an important defense component of the respiratory system but has special importance for a nasal airway exposed to environmental contamination. The mucociliary system is composed of the ciliated respiratory epithelium, the mucous blanket, and the mucus-producing glands. This system provides a mechanism for maintaining a constantly moist surface for humidification and cleaning of inspired air and a means to eliminate excess glandular production and debris from the nasal airway. The nasal respiratory epithelium is pseudostratified ciliated epithelium. Each ciliated cell contains 50 to 100 cilia 5 to 7 µm long. The cilia beat at a rate of 800 to 1,000 strokes per minute. The action of the cilia produces mass movement of the mucous blanket at a rate of 3 to 35 mm per minute in the human nose.