Complaints of unpleasant symptoms that are referable to the pharynx are perhaps the ones most frequently encountered in daily practice. The idea seems to be prevalent among many observers that all such symptoms are attributable to the secondary effect of disease of the paranasal sinuses, but I am firmly convinced that this idea is erroneous. My observations have led me to believe that the most frequent cause of pharyngeal complaints for which patients seek advice is referable to the pharynx itself.
Just prior to and for several years after the turn of the century much was written about the pharyngeal structures, and their symptomatology, pathology and physiology were thoroughly discussed. Earlier observers had described pharyngeal conditions under the inclusive term lymphatism. Although definite proof was lacking, there was a general feeling that the tonsillar tissue of the pharynx serves some useful purpose. Several theories as to the function of the