ABSTRACT
The ‘tonsils’ are correctly termed the palatine tonsils, forming paired structures developing from the second pharyngeal pouch. The covering stratified squamous epithelium typically dips into the tonsillar surface forming tonsillar crypts. The adenoid is the nasopharyngeal tonsil, and both form part of Waldeyer’s ring of lymphoid tissue in the upper respiratory tract, the first point of immunological contact for inhaled and ingested antigens.
