title: Cartilaginous Choristoma of the Tonsil: Three Case Reports.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Choristoma is defined as the presence of cells in abnormal locations due to defects during embryological development. The word choristoma implies a neoplasm; whereas heterotopia refers to a displaced tissue without necessarily being a swelling or a neoplasm. Literature contains reports of cartilaginous choristoma in the cervix, endometrium, breast tissue, and oral region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three cases of cartilaginous choristoma, which were accidentally found during microscopic examination of excised tonsil tissues, are presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Choristomas may cause difficulty in the differential diagnosis of true neoplasms, since they are rare and may grow. Therefore pathologists should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cartilaginous lesions, because cartilaginous choristomas of the tonsil are a rare entity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Recep
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bedir
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Özlem Celebi
authors.initials: ÖC
authors.lastname: Erdivanli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Başar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erdivanli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: İbrahim
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Sehitoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Medical Faculty, Rize, Turkey.
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dursun
keywords: Choristoma; Fibrocartilage; Palatine tonsil