Histopathology of the palatine tonsil in the newborn infant

We studied 13 tonsils from newborn infants in order to understand the evolution of the microscopical alterations in tonsils of children with recurrent infections. The weight of the newborns ranged from 0.540 to 3.250 kg. All tonsils had a similar histopathological pattern, independent of the weight of the newborn. The epithelium of the crypt showed no or slight infiltration of lymphocytes. All cases had some dilated crypts with formation of cysts lined by squamous epithelium and filled with squamous debris. The lymphoid tissue was poorly developed and with no differentiation into primary follicles. Similar cysts have been described in recurrent tonsillitis as a result of focal compression of the lumen of crypts by enlarged lymphoid follicles or abscess. However, our narrowing of the lumen of the crypts was near the surface of the tonsils.