Abstract

Tonsils form Waldeyer's ring which guards all body orifices. They form the first line of defense against foreign antigens and play a key role in initiating immune responses. The lingual tonsils react to ingested antigen and are replication sites of some pathogens. The data about the lingual tonsils of buffalo are lacking, therefore the present work studied the lingual tonsils of 5 buffalo calves (40-60 days). Fresh lingual tonsils were examined macroscopically and used for microscopic and ultrastructural investigations. The lingual tonsils were formed from several elevated macroscopic spherical masses on the dorso-lateral surface of the tongue with central crypt. The surface and crypt was covered with stratified squamous non-keratinized epithelium. An incomplete capsule encloses all the tonsils except at the crypt. The parenchyma was formed mainly from lymphoid follicles and interfollicular diffused lymphocytes. The lymphoid follicles arranged as one layer around the crypts. The interfollicular regions were formed from diffused lymphocytes supported with reticular fibers. High endothelial venules were present among these lymphocytes. Groups of mucous secreting units were distributed among the tonsilar units enclosed within the connective tissue capsule.

Key words: Buffalo calf, Lingual tonsils, Histology