MALTS Flashcards
What does MALTS stand for?
Mucosa associated lymphoid tissues
Where are MALTS?
Found under the epithelium of the respiratory, GI and genitourinary tracts
What are GALTS?
Gut-associated lymphoid tissues
What are the different GALTS?
Tonsils and adenoids, Peyer’s patches, appendix
What tonsils are at the back of the oral cavity?
Palantine tonsils
What tonsils are in the nasopharynx near the opening to the inner ear?
Tubal tonsil
What tonsils are at the base of the tongue?
Lingual tonsils
What type of tonsils are located high in the nasopharynx behind the nasal cavity and soft palate?
Pharyngeal/adenoids
What do the 4 types of tonsils create?
A ring around the openings of the nasal and oral cavities to form a line of defence. The ring is called Waldeyer’s ring.
Why do tonsils swell?
In infection, immune cells that recognise antigens presented to them inside the tonsils will divide rapidlyy.
Tonsilitis symptoms
Sore throat, pain when swallowing, fever, swollen lymph nodes in neck
Treatment of tonsilitis
Antibiotics. Only do tonsillectomies when someone has recurrent infection
Where is Peyer’s patch?
Mucosa throughout the small intestine, mainly the ileum
Function of Peyer’s patch
Collect antigen from GI tract
Describe structure of Peyer’s patch
Primary and secondary follicles located immediately beneath follicular associated epithelium
