Yamada Hiroshi, Sawada Masaki, Higashino Masaaki, Abe Susumu, El-Bialy Tarek, Tanaka Eiji
Yamada Orthodontic Office, Izumiotsu, Osaka 595-0025, Japan.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-8686, Japan.
J Clin Med. 2021 Oct 26;10(21):4956. doi: 10.3390/jcm10214956.
The adenoid (Ad) and tonsil (Ts), located in the upper airway, play an important role in immunological protection. These lymphoid tissues grow rapidly, reach a peak of growth at the age of 6-8 years, and decrease in their size thereafter. However, little information is available on the longitudinal growth patterns of Ad and Ts in the general population. This study aimed to evaluate the individual growth of Ad and Ts during childhood using lateral cephalograms taken longitudinally from the same individuals at the ages of 8-12 years. Our results showed that the cross-sectional areas of the Ad, nasopharynx (Np), and oropharynx (Op) significantly increased with age while small changes in the size of Ts were present throughout the study period. In addition, the values of Ad/Np and Ts/Op decreased significantly with age in the elementary school. Furthermore, there was a strong and significant correlation between the Ad/Np ratio and upper airway resistance, indicating the narrowest distance in the upper airway. In conclusion, the airway occupation in Np and Op increased with age due to the increase in the sizes of Np and Op but not the decrease in the sizes of Ad and Ts.
腺样体（Ad）和扁桃体（Ts）位于上呼吸道，在免疫保护中发挥重要作用。这些淋巴组织生长迅速，在6 - 8岁时达到生长高峰，此后体积减小。然而，关于一般人群中腺样体和扁桃体的纵向生长模式的信息很少。本研究旨在利用8 - 12岁同一人群纵向拍摄的头颅侧位片评估儿童期腺样体和扁桃体的个体生长情况。我们的结果显示，腺样体、鼻咽（Np）和口咽（Op）的横截面积随年龄显著增加，而在整个研究期间扁桃体大小变化较小。此外，在小学阶段，腺样体/鼻咽比值和扁桃体/口咽比值随年龄显著下降。此外，腺样体/鼻咽比值与上呼吸道阻力之间存在强烈且显著的相关性，表明上呼吸道最狭窄的距离。总之，由于鼻咽和口咽尺寸增加而非腺样体和扁桃体尺寸减小，鼻咽和口咽的气道占据随年龄增加。
