ABSTRACT
The nasal and ocular systems are anatomically distinct regions, but they do not function as completely isolated biological systems. The nasolacrimal system , trigeminal sensory pathways, autonomic neural regulation, lacrimal secretion, the eyelids, tear film, and ocular surface participate in already documented anatomical and physiological relationships [1–15].
The Lacrimal Functional Unit (LFU) represents an established example of functional integration involving the ocular surface, lacrimal secretory structures and neural connectivity . Experimental human data have also shown that anesthesia of the nasal mucosa reduces reflex tear production, while more recent therapeutic approaches have utilized nasal neural stimulation to induce endogenous tear secretion.
At the same time, chronic nasal and ocular disorders are highly prevalent and may adversely affect quality of life, sleep, daily functioning, and productivity. Allergic rhinitis remains substantially underdiagnosed or inadequately treated in population studies, while dry eye disease is also a common and multifactorial disorder .
The scientific gap is not that the relationships between the nose and the eye are unknown.
The gap is that these relationships remain distributed across different medical specialties and scientific disciplines and have not been systematically organized within a unified, functionally defined, measurable, and falsifiable framework in which the interface itself becomes the object of analysis.
Rhinophthalmology
The present paper proposes Rhinophthalmology as an interdisciplinary field of scientific investigation centered on biological interfaces.
Rhinophthalmic Interface
Rhinophthalmic Functional Unit
Rhinophthalmic Homeostasis
Rhinophthalmic Dysregulation
Naso–Tear Film Axis
Breath–Vision Axis
Interface Phenotype
Interface Reserve
Interface State Biomarkers
and a potential Pre-Disease State of the Rhinophthalmic Interface.
Fundamental Question
Can the biological relationship among the nasal system, neural regulation, lacrimal function, tear film, and ocular surface constitute a measurable functional interface with recognizable homeostasis, states of dysregulation, and additional explanatory or predictive value beyond the study of the individual organs?
The present framework does not presuppose a positive answer.
It proposes a framework through which the answer can be determined experimentally.
Rhinophthalmology · Rhinophthalmic Interface · Naso–Tear Film Axis · Breath–Vision Axis · Lacrimal Functional Unit · tear film · ocular surface · nasolacrimal system · nasal mucosa · trigeminal system · autonomic nervous system · allergic rhinitis · ocular allergy · dry eye disease · Interface Biology · Biological Interface Principle · functional vision · interface homeostasis · interface dysregulation