A HEREDITARY STUDY ON PAPILLARY HYPERTROPHY OF THE TONSILS

Abstract

Papillary hypertrophy of the tonsils is one of the rare abnormalities of the palatine tonsils. Since the first report of papillary hypertrophy of the tonsils by Ogino in 1924, only 30 cases of this disease have been reported in Japan. The etiology of papillary hypertrophy remains a mistery.
A 5-year-old female consulted our clinic with a complaint of obstructive feeling in throat. Papillary surface of palatine tonsils were noticed. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed under general anesthesia on October 25, 1977.
The histopathological examination of the tonsils revealed the lymphoid hyperplasia with poor subepithelial connective tissues. In general, the inflammation was slight.
This papillary hypertrophy of the tonsils was found in members (male 6, female 7) of her family pedigree.
A genetical analysis showed that this disease is a congenital abnormality of the tonsil due to an antnsnmal dominant.