The tongue is located at the anterior margin of the hypopharynx and the
lingual tonsils reside at the base of the tongue.
The palatine tonsils and base of tongue (lingual tonsil) are preferentially affected.
(12-13) Specifically, palatine tonsil (tonsillar crypt) and lingual tonsil squamous cell carcinomas are notorious for producing cystic metastases that are often solitary.
If the metastasis has the morphology described above, the primary tumor will almost always be located in the palatine or lingual tonsil region.
(25) In fact, recent investigations have shown that most cystic cervical node metastases are from [HPV.sup.+] palatine or lingual tonsil primaries.
The patient then underwent an upper endoscopy, which revealed that the lingual tonsils were greatly enlarged and that there was a slight irregularity of the mucosa in the upper one-third of the esophagus.
Massive hypertrophy o f the lingual tonsils: An unusual cause of dysphagia.
Lingual tonsil hypertrophy is an uncommon cause of upper aerodigestive tract pathology.
In this report, we describe the case of an adolescent with severe dysphagia secondary to lingual tonsil hypertrophy who was treated with plasma-mediated radiofrequency-based ablation (Coblation; ArthroCare Corp.; Sunnyvale, Calif.).
Based on the findings of this extensive workup, the only explanation for the patient's dysphagia was lingual tonsil hypertrophy.
It forms part of Waldeyer's ring which comprises of lymphoid tissue of palatine tonsils,
lingual tonsils, posterior pharyngeal wall tonsils and adenoids.
Lingual tonsil abscess is a rare disorder previously reported only once in the English literature.
