lingual tonsil

The lingual tonsils are rounded masses of lymphatic tissue that cover the posterior region of the tongue.

It is characterized by the presence of whitish-yellow dots on the pharyngeal wall, tonsils or lingual tonsils.

They are part of the so-called Waldeyer ring of lymphoid tissue which includes the palatine tonsils and the lingual tonsil.

Lingual tonsils are found immediately beneath the foliate papillae and, when hyperplastic, cause a prominence of the papillae.

While they occur most commonly in the palatine tonsils, they may also occur in the lingual tonsils.

Tonsils in humans include, from superior to inferior: nasopharyngeal tonsils (also known as adenoids), palatine tonsils, and lingual tonsils.

Their lymphatic tissue are dense and nodular, their surface is covered with stratified squamous epithelium which invaginates as a single crypt into each lingual tonsil.

The lymphatic drainage for the palatine, pharyngeal and lingual tonsils flow into the cervical lymph glands and then into the superior deep jugular nodes.

The set of lymphatic tissue known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring includes the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsil.

The pharyngeal tonsils are located at the junction of the hard and soft palate and the lingual tonsils are located on the dorsal surface of the tongue.

The tubal tonsil is one of the four main tonsil groups comprising Waldeyer's tonsillar ring, which includes the Palatine tonsil, the Lingual tonsil, the Pharyngeal tonsil, and the Tubal tonsil.