口蓋扁桃の形態と扁桃周囲膿瘍の発症について

Morphology of the Palatine Tonsil and Pathogenesis of Peritonsillar Abscess

I．はじめに

　扁桃周囲膿瘍は，耳鼻咽喉科日常臨床で多数経験する疾患で，診断，治療法も確立されている。しかし，発症機構については，いまだ確定されていない^1～4）。

　われわれは，日常診療で多数の扁桃周囲膿瘍，急性扁桃炎を診察している中で，扁桃周囲膿瘍の口蓋扁桃の形態に一定の傾向があるのではないかと推察した。そこで，扁桃周囲膿瘍，急性扁桃炎の口蓋扁桃の形態を確認し，口蓋扁桃の形態と扁桃周囲膿瘍の発症について検討を加えた。

　The morphology of the palatine tonsil of patients with peritonsillar abscess was compared with that of acute tonsillitis. The subjects were hospitalized at Asahi General Hospital and Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital during the period from October 1998 to March 2002. The palatine tonsil was classified into buried tonsil and pedunculating tonsil. In the case of peritonsillar abscess a number of the buried tonsil was significantly more than that of the pedunculating tonsil. The reasons of the above result were as follows；the inflammatory product tends to be obstructed in the buried tonsils,which can lead to produce peritonsillar abscess when acute tonsillitis occurs.