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Repeated samples of nasal epithelium were taken for in vitro study of the number and motility of ciliated cells (microphoto-oscillographic technique), and nasal mucociliary clearance transport rate was measured (saccharin test) in 26 subjects with naturally acquired common colds. The transport rate was markedly reduced during the disease, and a slight impairment remained even after 32 days. There was a considerable fall in the number of ciliated cells, and regeneration was slow. A moderate and shortlasting change in beating frequency and intracellular synchrony was also observed. It is concluded, that a common cold, as a rule, results in marked and long-lasting impairment of nasal mucociliary clearance function, and this may be the cause of some otherwise unexplainable symptoms from the nose and throat.