Tonsillectomy complicated by excessive bleeding from the deep aspect of the tonsillar bed suggests injury to a vessel passing through the wall of the pharynx there. The tonsillar bed is formed mainly by which muscle?

• A Superior constrictor of pharynx ✓
• B Middle constrictor of pharynx
• C Palatopharyngeus
• D Buccinator

Explanation

The palatine tonsil sits in the tonsillar fossa between the palatoglossal and palatopharyngeal arches, and its bed is chiefly the superior constrictor with contributions from styloglossus and palatopharyngeus. The large extracapsular paratonsillar vein traverses this bed, explaining haemorrhage after tonsillectomy, and infection can pass through the superior constrictor into the parapharyngeal space. Buccinator is an anterior oral structure unrelated to the fossa.

Reference: BD Chaurasia Human Anatomy, Head and Neck, 8th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.