Palatine tonsil
Tonsilla palatina
Lymphatic & immuneLymphaticsHeadLeft and right
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- What it is
- An almond-shaped mass of lymphoid tissue in the side wall of the throat, sitting in the tonsillar fossa between the palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal arches. Its surface is pitted with 10-20 deep crypts. These are the "tonsils" seen at the back of the mouth.
- Function
- Samples swallowed and inhaled antigens at the entrance of the throat and starts antibody responses, as part of Waldeyer's ring.
- Size
- About 20-25 x 15 x 10 mm in a child; they shrink in adults
- Clinical note
- Tonsillitis is usually viral or due to group A streptococcus. Tonsillectomy is one of the commonest childhood operations. A peritonsillar abscess (quinsy) pushes the uvula toward the opposite side.