The palatine tonsils are known to be involved in the formation of cellular and humoral immunity. Apoptosis is believed to be one of the main biological mechanism regulating the quantitative composition of subpopulations of the immunocompetent cells. Therefore, the prevalence of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic processes determines the direction of the immune response. Bearing this in mind, we have undertaken a study with a view to elucidating the relationships between lymphocyte subpopulations in the blood and homogenates of the palatal tonsils in the patients with chronic decompensated tonsillitis and establishing their interdependence with the levels of apoptosis and necrosis. The quantification of apoptosis and necrosis as well as the ratio of these processes in neutrophils and lymphocytes belonging to different subpopulations of palatal tonsil homogenates and peripheral blood was performed by cytofluorometry with the use of the «BecmenCulter Epi XL» apparatus (USA). It has been found that decompensated chronic tonsillitis is associated with the depression of cellular immunity apparent as the 2 or 3-fold reduction of lymphocyte CD3, CD4m and CD8 subsets (as compared with the respective normal levels). The number of CD16 and CD19 lymphocytes remains unaltered wich suggests that humoral immunity is unaffectred. It is concluded that the apoptosis-necrosis index and the relationship between different subpopulations of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood may be the additional indicator to be used for diagnostics of decompensated forms of chronic tonsillitis.