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The tubal tonsil
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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The tubal tonsil (tonsilla tubaria) is paired and is a cluster of lymphoid tissue in the form of a discontinuous plate in the thickness of the mucous membrane of the tubal ridge, in the area of the pharyngeal opening and the cartilaginous part of the auditory tube. The tonsil consists of diffuse lymphoid tissue and a few lymphoid nodules. The mucous membrane above the tonsil is covered with ciliated (multi-row ciliated) epithelium. The tubal tonsil is quite well expressed in a newborn (its length is 7.0-7.5 mm), and reaches its greatest development at 4-7 years. In children, small tubercles are visible on the surface of the mucous membrane in the area of the tubal tonsil, under which there are clusters of lymphoid tissue - lymphoid nodules. Lymphoid nodules and reproduction centers in them appear in the 1st year of the child's life. Age-related involution of the tubal tonsil begins in adolescence and youth.
Development of the tubal tonsil
The development of the tubal tonsil begins in the 7th-8th month of fetal life in the thickness of the mucous membrane around the pharyngeal opening of the auditory tube. At first, separate accumulations of future lymphoid tissue appear, from which the tubal tonsil is subsequently formed.
[ Vessels and nerves of the tonsil
Blood flows to the tubular tonsil through the branches of the ascending pharyngeal artery. Venous blood from the tonsil flows into the veins of the pharyngeal plexus. Nerve fibers enter as part of the branches of the facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, as well as from the periarterial sympathetic plexuses.