抄録
The base of the tongue and epiglottis were removed from 66 cadavers and subjected to pathological examination.
The following rerults were obtained:
1.Individual variation in development of the lingual tonsil is great and the lymphoid tissue in comparison with the palatine tonsil is not fully developed.
2.The ducts of all the glands open in the crypts of the lingual follicles and serve to irrigate the crypts.At times, development of retention cysts is seen.
3.Inflammation or hypertrophy of the lingual tonsils is mostly found in adults and chronic inflammatory changes are frequently seen near the epiglottic vallecula.The reasons for this are 1)the deficiency of glandular tissue in the vallecula and thus the minimal irrigating action, 2)its complicated structure, and 3)as a result the activity of bacteria is facilitated.
4.The lymphoid tissues of the lingual and laryngeal surfaces of the epiglottis are different.The lymphoid tissue of the lingual side of the epiglottis is the same as that at the base of the tongue, whereas the laryngeal side shows the same structure of tissue as that in the laryngeal mucosa.
5.The ducts of the glands in the epiglottis run in a distinctive fashion and mostly open upon the laryngeal surface.Only a few open on the lingual surface and most of these spring from the small glandular tissues in the epiglottic vallecula.
It is probable that the lymphoid and glandular tissues of the epiglottis owe their peculiarities to the paticular way in which the epiglottis is formed during its developmental stage.
6.Numerous cysts are found on the lingual surface of the epiglottis, the reasons for which are deeply related to the observations stated in(3) and(4).
In reports concerning the origin of epiglottic cysts, conclusions pointing to the congenital nature of these cysts are frequently encountered, but the validity of these conclusions is extremely doubtful.Minute study will usually disclosed that they are mostly acquired cysts.
