The Tonsils Revisited: Review of the Anatomical Localization and Histological Characteristics of the Tonsils of Domestic and Laboratory Animals

Figure 3

Anatomical localization and histological characteristics of the bovine tonsils. (a) Median section through a bovine head. In the upper left insert, the caudal part of the pharyngeal tonsil (PT, encircled in the central image) has been partly removed to demonstrate the tubal tonsil (encircled in the insert, indicated by the interrupted arrow in the central image) caudoventral to the opening of the auditory tube (arrow in the insert). The tonsil of the soft palate (boxed area) is located at the nasopharyngeal side of the soft palate. The bilobated palatine tonsil is shown in the lower left insert. Its sinus is indicated by the arrow. The position of the lingual tonsil at the root of the tongue is presented in the upper right insert. (b) Histological section through a tonsillar follicle belonging to the lingual tonsil. The tonsillar fossula and crypt are indicated by the arrow and the asterisk, respectively. (c–f) Histological sections through parts of the palatine (c), pharyngeal (d) and tubal (e) tonsils, and the tonsil of the soft palate (f), respectively.