Abstract
An ectopic tonsil is defined as tonsillar tissue that develops in areas outside of the four major tonsil groups: the palatine, lingual, pharyngeal, and tubal tonsils. The occurrence of tonsillar tissue in the oral cavity in ectopic locations, its prevalence, and its developmental mechanisms that belong to its formation remain unclear. In this report, we describe a rare case of bilateral symmetric ectopic oral tonsillar tissue located at the ventral surface of the tongue along with two solitary cases arising from the floor of the mouth. The role of immune system and its aberrant response leading to ectopic deposits desires further studies. As an ectopic tonsil may simulate a benign soft tissue tumor, this case series highlights the importance of this entity in our clinical differential diagnosis of oral soft tissue masses.
Highlights
The tonsils form part of a circular band of adenoid tissue known as Waldeyer’s ring, which guard the opening of the digestive and respiratory tracts
Ectopic tonsils have been reported in different anatomic locations of the oral cavity, for example, on the floor of the mouth [1,2,3,4,5,6], ventral surface of the tongue [1, 2, 4], and soft palate [1, 2], and in other parts of the aerodigestive tracts, for example, larynx [7], hypopharynx [8], nasal septum [9], or in the orbit [10] (Table 1)
Ectopic tonsils are comprised of a single or branched crypts containing lymphoid follicles lined with stratified squamous epithelium
Summary
The tonsils form part of a circular band of adenoid tissue known as Waldeyer’s ring, which guard the opening of the digestive and respiratory tracts. This circular band is comprised of four major tonsil groups: the palatine, lingual, pharyngeal, and tubal tonsils. We report a rare case of bilateral symmetric ectopic oral tonsillar tissue observed on the ventral surface of the tongue and two other solitary cases arising from floor of the mouth along with a review of the literature
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