Various Tonsillitis and Sympathetic Nerves

-A Study of Chemical Neurotransmitter-

Abstract

One of the chemical neurotransmitters, norepinephrine (NE), was measured quantitatively in the human palatine tonsil by high-performance liquid chromatography. The NE content in patients with chronic tonsillitis increased in proportion to the frequency of recurrent acute infection. In patients with focal infectious tonsillitis or peritonsillar abscess, the tonsillar content of NE was higher than in patients with simple hypertrophic tonsils. It is concluded that various forms of tonsillits may be closely related to the local sympathetic nerves.