Adenoids

Adenoids which is also called as pharyngeal tonsils or nasopharyngeal tonsils are a mass of lymphoid tissue situated at the very back of the nose, in the roof of the nasopharynx, where the nose blends into the mouth.

Santorini described it as Lushka’s tonsil. Wilhelm Meyer coined the term adenoid. In early childhood this is the first site of immunological contact for inhaled antigens though historically it is the site of focus of infection and more recently cause for persistence of otitis media with effusion.

Adenoids appear 4-6 weeks of gestation at the junction of roof and posterior wall of nasopharynx. Extends to fossa of rossenmuller and to eustachian tube orifice as Gerlich’s tonsil. By five years of age adenoid could be identified. Growth continues rapidly during infancy and plateaus between 2 and 14 years of age. Regression of adenoid occurs rapidly after 15 years of age in most children, but it is largest at 7 years of age. However clinical symptoms are more common in a younger age group due to the relative small volume of nasopharynx and increased frequency of upper respiratory tract infections.