Question:medium
A patient presents with fever and dysphagia. The image shows the tonsil being pushed. What is the diagnosis?
A patient presents with fever and dysphagia. The image shows the tonsil being pushed. What is the diagnosis?
Show Hint
A unilateral bulge pushing the tonsil down and the uvula across is the classic quinsy.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Parapharyngeal abscess
- Retropharyngeal abscess
- Peritonsillar abscess
- Ludwig's angina
Show Solution
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Read the displacement. The tonsil shoved downward and medially with the uvula pushed to the opposite side and a swollen soft palate is the textbook look of a peritonsillar abscess, also called quinsy.
Anatomy: the pus collects in the peritonsillar space between the tonsillar capsule and the superior constrictor, so the swelling bulges into the anterior pillar and soft palate. Classic clues are fever, odynophagia, trismus, drooling and a hot-potato voice.
Elimination: a parapharyngeal abscess pushes the whole tonsil and lateral wall medially but produces a neck swelling behind the angle of the jaw; a retropharyngeal abscess bulges the back wall of the pharynx and is mostly a small-child diagnosis; Ludwig's angina is a brawny submandibular swelling that lifts the floor of the mouth and tongue rather than moving the tonsil. The intraoral picture of a deviated tonsil and uvula seals the answer as peritonsillar abscess, option C. Ref: NCBI Bookshelf NBK519520.
Anatomy: the pus collects in the peritonsillar space between the tonsillar capsule and the superior constrictor, so the swelling bulges into the anterior pillar and soft palate. Classic clues are fever, odynophagia, trismus, drooling and a hot-potato voice.
Elimination: a parapharyngeal abscess pushes the whole tonsil and lateral wall medially but produces a neck swelling behind the angle of the jaw; a retropharyngeal abscess bulges the back wall of the pharynx and is mostly a small-child diagnosis; Ludwig's angina is a brawny submandibular swelling that lifts the floor of the mouth and tongue rather than moving the tonsil. The intraoral picture of a deviated tonsil and uvula seals the answer as peritonsillar abscess, option C. Ref: NCBI Bookshelf NBK519520.
Was this answer helpful?
0
