Pharyngeal tonsil (adenoid)
Tonsilla pharyngea
Lymphatic & immuneLymphaticsHead
- What it is
- A ridged pad of lymphoid tissue in the roof and back wall of the nasopharynx, behind the nasal cavity and above the soft palate. Its free surface has 5-6 sagittal folds. It is prominent in children and normally regresses by the teenage years.
- Function
- Traps and responds to antigens in the air breathed through the nose.
- Size
- About 2-3 cm wide and 1-1.5 cm thick in a child
- Clinical note
- Enlarged adenoids block the nose and the openings of the Eustachian tubes, causing mouth-breathing, snoring and "glue ear", the usual reasons for adenoidectomy.