Benign and Malignant Tumors of the Tonsils

Abstract

Tonsils are lymphoid tissues in the oral cavity and nasopharyngeal region arranged in Waldeyer’s ring. The Waldeyer’s ring consists of pairs of pharyngeal (adenoids), tubal, palatine, and lingual tonsils. These are usually hyperplastic at a younger age and decrease with age. However, asymmetric enlargement might be a sign of pathology. It could be due to tonsillitis, abscess, and benign tumors, such as fibromas, teratomas, and angiomas such as lymphangioma, hemangioma, and inclusion cyst. Benign tumors of the tonsils are usually rare but not uncommon. It could be due to malignancies such as lymphoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or metastasis. This chapter focuses on clinical, histopathological and radiographic features of benign and malignant tumors of palatine and lingual tonsils.