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

Overview

Journal Clin Dev Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2011 Aug 27

PMID 21869895

Citations 34

Authors

Christophe Casteleyn

Sofie Breugelmans

Paul Simoens

Wim Van Den Broeck

Affiliations

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Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the anatomical localization and histological characteristics of the tonsils that are present in ten conventional domestic animal species, including the sheep, goat, ox, pig, horse, dog, cat, rabbit, rat, and pigeon. Anatomical macrographs and histological images of the tonsils are shown. Six tonsils can be present in domestic animals, that is, the lingual, palatine, paraepiglottic, pharyngeal, and tubal tonsils and the tonsil of the soft palate. Only in the sheep and goat, all six tonsils are present. Proper tonsils are absent in the rat, and pigeon. In the rabbit, only the palatine tonsils can be noticed, whereas the pig does not present palatine tonsils. The paraepiglottic tonsils lack in the ox, horse, and dog. In addition, the dog and cat are devoid of the tubal tonsil and the tonsil of the soft palate.

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