Anatomical localization and histological characteristics of the caprine tonsils. (a) Median section through a caprine head. A detail of the palatine tonsil is presented in the upper left insert. The location of the lingual tonsil, in the region of the vallate papillae, is shown in the lower left insert (dorsal view). The paraepiglottic tonsil that is located lateral to the basis of the epiglottis (small square box) is only present in a minority of goats. The position of the tonsil of the soft palate at the nasopharyngeal side of the soft palate is indicated by the rectangular box. At the caudal end of the pharyngeal septum (PS in the upper right insert), the pharyngeal tonsil (encircled on the overview, delineated by the rectangular box in the upper right insert) can be recognized by the numerous mucosal folds. The tubal tonsil is located caudoventral to the opening of the auditory tube, but is not visible on this view. (b) Histological section through the paraepiglottic tonsil. (c) Histological images of the lingual tonsil. The upper view shows aggregations of lymphoid cells (arrows) in between the lingual muscles and salivary glands. The lower image demonstrates the presence of an aggregation of lymphoid cells in the connective tissue core of a vallate papilla. (d–g) Histological sections through the palatine (d) and tubal (e) tonsils, the tonsil of the soft palate (f), and the pharyngeal tonsil (g), respectively. A tonsillar follicle is encircled in (d); the lymphoid tissue in (e) and (f) is indicated by the arrows.