The Unified Airway

Book excerpt: A model developed in the past 5 years is that of the "Unified Airway." The concept in this model is that the respiratory mucosa from the middle ear, through the nose and sinuses, down the trachea and through the larynx, and into the bronchioles represents a common epithelium that responds to stimuli in a similar manner. Diseases that affect one portion of this epithelium, therefore, will commonly affect one or more other components. This model has been used to explain the strong overlap and comorbidities among diseases such as allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, and asthma. Since otolaryngologists commonly treat patients with rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, and laryngitis, a full exploration of the overlap among these diseases, as well as the importance of lower respiratory inflammation, is presented in this issue.