Tonsil Slide

Low magnification survey view of the lingual tonsil, showing a tonsillar crypt (TC). This area of mucous membrane is covered with a layer of stratified squamous non-keratinized epithelium. Because of its strategic location at the portals of the oral/pharyngeal region, the tonsillar tissue is bombarded with foreign antigen and responds accordingly through activation and proliferation (cloning) of small lymphocytes that have the capacity to recognize these foreign macromolecules. Clones of lymphocytes - lymphatic nodules (LDL) - are abundant, some with lighter-staining germinal centres, indicating active cell proliferation in progress.