Palatine tonsils

Tonsilla palatina (palatine tonsil) is one of the important lymphatic organs that participate in the formation of the body's immunological barrier, especially by controlling food intake and inhaled air.

Topography
It is stored in the fossa tonsillaris in the isthmus faucium between the arcus palatoglossus and arcus palatopharyngeus. In this recess it is attached by a fairly wide stem, but is free at the edges. Both the tonsilla and its peduncle are covered by a mucous membrane that passes over it from the fossa tonsillaris. With its lateral wall, it presses on the fibrous capsule tonsillae, the projections of which form a fibrous septa inside the tonsil.

The space behind the capsule is filled with sparse connective tissue and forms the spatium peritonsillare, which communicates with the tongue, soft palate and prestyloid space. The pleura semilunaris is the point of transition of the arcus palatoglossus and palatopharyngeus and forms the cranial border of a small space called the fossa intratonsillaris.

Often, the tonsil is divided by a fold ( plica tonsillaris ) into a cranial, looser part and a caudal, more firmly fixed hilus, where most of the vessels and nerves come, this is the place of vessel ligation during tonsillectomy.

Surface
The mucosa is covered by a multi-layered squamous epithelium. Tonsil size depends on age (largest in puberty) and inflammatory changes. The overall shape is flattened with a furrowed surface that forms pits and depressions, continuing in depth as crypts (lacunae).

Under the epithelium of the tonsils, there is no basement membrane, which is why lymphocytes can pass freely up to the mucous membrane.

If a fibrous transformation occurs (e.g. due to repeated angina), the formation of tonsillar studs inside the crypts occurs as a result of insufficient physiological massage by swallowing. These arise due to insufficient removal of epithelial cell remnants, food and dead lymphocytes. Persistent bacterial colonization of the crypts (e.g. β-hemolytic streptococci) is also involved in the formation of pins.

Stroma
Made up of reticular (fibrous) epithelium, the stellate-shaped epithelial cells are permeated by lymphocytes. Follicles consist mainly of B–lymfocytes, in the middle there are lighter germinal centers with blast immune cells. The palatine tonsil may fuse with the lingual tonsil. It belongs to one of the tonsils of Waldeyer's lymphoepithelial circuit.

Vessels

 * Arteries
 * The arteries supplying the tonsils are:
 * ascending pharyngeal artery,
 * ascending palatine artery,
 * lingual artery,
 * arteriae palatinae minores.


 * Veins
 * They drain blood to the plexus tonsillaris and vena palatine externa.


 * Lymphatic vessels
 * The palatine tonsil does not have its own supply lymphatic vessels, drain vessels lead the lymph through the nodus lymphaticus tonsillaris and then to the nodi lymphatici jugulares interni.

Nerves

 * Sensitive innervation
 * glossopharyngeal nerve,
 * maxillary nerve.


 * Sympathetic innervation
 * tonsillar plexus,
 * facial plexus.

Related Articles

 * Chronic tonsillitis
 * Angina
 * Tonsillectomy