Waldeyer's ring
Last revised by Edward Zhou
on 3 Feb 2025
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Wahba M, Zhou E, Bell D, et al. Waldeyer's ring. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 13 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-7120
rID:
7120
Article created:
6 Sep 2009,
Mohammed Wahba
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Mohammed Wahba had no recorded disclosures.
View Mohammed Wahba's current disclosures
Last revised:
3 Feb 2025,
Edward Zhou
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Edward Zhou had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Edward Zhou's current disclosures
Revisions:
9 times, by
6 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Waldeyer's ring
Waldeyer's ring is a ring of lymphoid tissue located in the nasopharynx and oropharynx at the entrance to the aerodigestive tract.
Gross anatomy
The structures composing this ring are 4:
palatine tonsils (also called the faucial tonsils)
adenoid tonsils (nasopharyngeal tonsils)
the tubal tonsils (Gerlach tonsils) near the entrance of the Eustachian tube in the nasopharynx
lingual tonsils at the base of the tongue
History and etymology
It is named after Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried Waldeyer (1836-1921); although from 1916 until his death he became Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz following an elevation to a Prussian peerage; Hartz was his mother's maiden name. He was a celebrated German anatomist, physiologist and pathologist 2,3.
References
- 1. Jafek BW, Murrow BW. ENT secrets. Mosby. (2005) ISBN:1560536179. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Winkelmann A. Wilhelm von Waldeyer-Hartz (1836-1921): an anatomist who left his mark. (2007) Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.). 20 (3): 231-4. doi:10.1002/ca.20400 - Pubmed
- 3. Scheuerlein, Hubert, Henschke, Frank, Köckerling, Ferdinand. Wilhelm von Waldeyer-Hartz—A Great Forefather: His Contributions to Anatomy with Particular Attention to “His” Fascia. (2018) Frontiers in Surgery. 4: 74. doi:10.3389/fsurg.2017.00074 - Pubmed
- 4. Arambula A, Brown J, Neff L. Anatomy and Physiology of the Palatine Tonsils, Adenoids, and Lingual Tonsils. World J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021;7(3):155-60. doi:10.1016/j.wjorl.2021.04.003 - Pubmed
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