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Lingual tonsil
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
The lingual tonsil (tonsilla lingualis) is unpaired and lies under the multilayered epithelium of the mucous membrane of the root of the tongue, often in the form of two clusters of lymphoid tissue. The boundary between these clusters on the surface of the tongue is the sagittally oriented median groove of the tongue, and in the depth of the organ - the septum of the tongue.
The surface of the tongue above the tonsil is bumpy, the number of elevations (tubercles) is especially large in adolescence and ranges from 61 to 151. Between the tubercles, the transverse dimensions of which do not exceed 3-4 mm, openings of small depressions - crypts, extending into the thickness of the tongue by 2-4 mm. Ducts of the mucous glands flow into the crypts.
The lingual tonsil reaches its largest size by the age of 14-20 years, its length at these years is 18-25 mm, and its width is 18-25 mm. The lingual tonsil does not have a capsule.
The lingual tonsil consists of lymphoid nodules and internodular lymphoid tissue. The number of nodules (80-90) is greatest in childhood, adolescence and youth. Lymphoid nodules are located under the epithelial cover and near the crypts. The nodules reach their maximum size by adolescence, their transverse size during this period is 0.5-1.0 mm. In children and adolescents, almost all lymphoid nodules have reproduction centers.
Development and age-related changes of the lingual tonsil
The lingual tonsil appears in the fetus in the 6th-7th month in the form of single diffuse accumulations of lymphoid tissue in the lateral parts of the root of the tongue. In the 8th-9th month of intrauterine life, the lymphoid tissue forms denser accumulations - lymphoid nodules. At this time, small, irregularly shaped tubercles and folds are found on the surface of the root of the tongue. By the time of birth, the number of lymphoid nodules in the forming tonsil increases significantly. Reproduction centers in the lymphoid nodules appear soon after birth (in the 14th month of life), their number increases up to adolescence. In infants, there are about 66 nodules in the lingual tonsil. During the period of early childhood, their number averages 85, and in adolescence - 90. The size of the nodules increases to 0.5-1.0 mm. In older people, the amount of lymphoid tissue in the lingual tonsil is small, connective tissue grows in it.
[ Vessels and nerves of the lingual tonsil
The branches of the right and left lingual arteries, and in rare cases, the branches of the facial artery, approach the lingual tonsil. Venous blood from the tonsil flows into the lingual vein. Lymph from the lingual tonsil is directed through the lymphatic vessels of the tongue to the regional lymph nodes - the lateral deep cervical (internal jugular).
The innervation of the tonsil is carried out by fibers of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, as well as sympathetic fibers of the external carotid plexus.
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