Tonsil, palatine (Human) - 40X
 
Tonsils are groups of lymphatic follicles in the mucosa of the pharynx. This image shows part of a palatine tonsil, and you can see the stratified squamous non-keratinized epithelium covering the lymphatic tissue (arrow bar). The palatine tonsils are located at the back of the oral cavity--one on each side. The outer surface of a tonsil is not smooth--there are many deep openings called crypts.

Tonsil, palatine (Human) - 100X
 
In this enlargement of part of the image above, you can clearly see the structure of the epithelium.












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