Some aspects of the histology of the nonhuman primate nasopharynx

Study of the nasopharynx in man by scanning electron microscopy

“…No coherent definition of the macroscopic subdivision of this organ exists (U.I.C.C., 1963;Testut and Latarjet, 1964;AH, 1965;Khoo etal, 1967;Chiarugi, 1968;Bottazzi Bacchi, 1973;Warwick and Williams, 1973;Leela and Kanagasuntheram, 1973;Santoro, 1982) and even greater disagreement is to be found concerning the characteristics of the epithelium which covers the surface. Some authors refer to a pseudostratified epithelium with ciliated cells interspersed by goblet-cells (Tos, 1975), whereas others (Davies and Davies, 1962;Testut and Latarjet, 1964;Khoo et al, 1967;Legent et al, 1969;Rossi, 1975) described a stratified epithelium as the normal pattern.…”

“…There are those who emphasise the difference between the cellular lining of the apex of the folds which raise the mucous membrane and that related to the base of the folds (Rossi, 1975). Lastly, a very interesting observation has been made concerning areas characterized by a transitional epithelium similar to that lining the urinary pathways (Ali, 1965;Tock and Tan, 1969;Bottazzi Bacchi, 1973;Leela and Kanagasuntheram, 1973;Jahnke, 1974). This finding, referred to by Bryant back in 1916, has been confirmed by other authors and correlated with the origin of certain forms of neoplasia (Ewing, 1929;Yeh and Cowdry, 1954;Yeh 1962;Jahnke, 1974).…”

Structure and Probable Functional Role of the Nasopharyngeal Lymphoepithelial Tissue of the Mouse

“…The epithelium in the nasopharyngeal lymphoepithelial tissue, the so-called "lymphoepithelium (Jolly, 1914)", was heavily infiltrated with lymphoid cells and could not be established its deep border. This type of epithelium has been observed in the lymphoepithelial tissues from different anatomical sites, such as the pharyngeal tonsil (Leela and Kanagasuntheram, 1973), palatine tonsil (Fioretti, 1961;Kawaguchi, 1967;Takagi and Saito, 1974a, b;Saito, 1976), lingual tonsil (Nair and Rossinsky, 1984), bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (Bienenstock and Johnston, 1976;Fournier et , al., 1977), Peyer's patches (Owen and Jones, 1974;Smith and Peacock, 1980) and appendix (Bockman et al, 1975), and Fioretti (1961) termed i as the "Lymphoepitheliale Symbiose".The lymphoepithelium is not regarded as a pathological state such as infection but as a physiological phenomenon in view of the constancy which it is observed (Takagi and Saito, 1974b;Fournier et al, 1977;Howie, 1981). It is suggested that the epithelial cells and the lymphoid cells coexist within the lymphoepithelium with maintaining any physiological relationships, and play an important role as the first level of the defense mechanism in the lymphoepithelial tissue.…”

“…However, the widely read textbooks on human histology (Arey, 1968;Ham, 1969;Bloom and Fawcett, 1976) stated that there were no typical crypts in the pharyngeal tonsil and that the crypt-like structures were merely epithelial folds. Furthermore, Leela and Kanagasuntheram (1973) described that no crypts were observed in the pharyngeal tonsil of the macaque monkey. Although the mouse nasopharyngeal lymphoepithelial tissue was devoid of typical crypts, the epithelium showed surface discontinuities to allow underlying lymphoid cells to come in contact with the external environment.…”

Venous networks in the upper airways of bats: A histological and diceCT study

“…This study confirmed that respiratory epithelium, as well as mucosal vessels consistent with air conditioning function, is present in the nasopharynx of nonhuman primates. In general, there is broad agreement that three types of epithelium (respiratory, transitional, and stratified squamous) are present in the pharynx of mammals (e.g., Leela & Kanagasuntheram, 1973; Leela, Kanagasuntheram, & Khoo, 1974; Nakano, 1986). Yet, there is a need for thorough studies of the nasal and pharyngeal airways to determine to what extent mucosa specialized for air conditioning is distributed throughout the upper airways.…”