Palatine tonsil
Updates to Article Attributes
Body
was changed:
The palatine tonsil, referred simply to as "the tonsils" when considered together bilaterally, is a collection of lymphoid tissue in the pharyngeal mucosa.
Gross anatomy
It is often described to have two borders, two poles and two surfaces:
- anterior and posterior borders (described in relations below)
- upper and lower poles: extending to the soft palate and dorsum of the tongue respectively
- medial and lateral surfaces (described in relations below)
Relations
- anteriorly: palatoglossal arch
- posteriorly: palatopharyngeal arch
- medially: covered by pharyngeal mucosa
- laterally: tonsillar capsule (thickened pharyngeal submucosa), superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle
Blood supply
- arterial supply: tonsillar branch of facial artery, contributions from the ascending pharyngeal and lingual arteries, ascending palatine vessels
- venous drainage: venous plexus which drains into the pharyngeal plexus, external palatine vein
Lymphatic drainage
- lymph nodes: deep cervical group
- jugulodigastric nodes: inferior to the angle of the mandible
Innervation
- tonsillar branches
Histology
Consists of:
- non-keratinised stratified squamous epithelium
- incompletely encapsulated
- long-branched tonsillar crypts: e.g. intratonsillar cleft
Related pathology
-<p>The <strong>palatine tonsil</strong>, referred simply to as "the tonsils" when considered together bilaterally, is a collection of lymphoid tissue in the pharyngeal mucosa.</p><h4>Gross anatomy</h4><p>It is often described to have two borders, two poles and two surfaces:</p><ul>- +<p>The <strong>palatine tonsil</strong>, referred simply to as "the tonsils" when considered together bilaterally, is a collection of lymphoid tissue in the <a title="pharynx" href="/articles/pharynx">pharyngeal mucosa</a>.</p><h4>Gross anatomy</h4><p>It is often described to have two borders, two poles and two surfaces:</p><ul>
-<li>upper and lower poles: extending to the soft palate and dorsum of the tongue respectively</li>- +<li>upper and lower poles: extending to the <a title="Soft palate" href="/articles/soft-palate">soft palate</a> and dorsum of the <a title="Tongue" href="/articles/tongue">tongue</a> respectively</li>
-<li>anteriorly: palatoglossal arch</li>-<li>posteriorly: palatopharyngeal arch</li>- +<li>anteriorly: <a title="Palatoglossus muscle" href="/articles/palatoglossus-muscle">palatoglossal arch</a>
- +</li>
- +<li>posteriorly: <a title="Palatopharyngeus muscle" href="/articles/palatopharyngeus-muscle">palatopharyngeal arch</a>
- +</li>
-<li><a title="Lesser palatine nerves" href="/articles/lesser-palatine-nerves">lesser palatine nerves</a></li>- +<li><a href="/articles/lesser-palatine-nerves">lesser palatine nerves</a></li>