The Human Adenoid

Our letter is prompted by an article that appeared in the February 1994 issue of theArchivesby Winther and Innes. 1 The study focuses mainly on the so-called M cells in the adenoid epithelium, which have been demonstrated, for the first time, using both transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. We were pleased to find that the discussion of the results was based mostly on the observations made by our colleagues, Karchev and Kabakchiev, published in 1984. 2 These findings demonstrated the existence of M cells in the epithelium of the nasopharyngeal tonsil for the first time. At the same time, we were upset by the aspirations of Winther and Innes 1 who claimed priority in the discovery of M cells in the adenoid epithelium, failing even to mention the article by Fujiyoshi et al. 3 The article by Fujiyoshi et al was the second to be published