Pop Quiz Hotshot!
What body parts can you cut out and the only side effects are you get to eat ice cream
for a week?
We all know what they are, but what do they do?
Happy Monday!
What are tonsils for?
Seriously.
When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone was getting their tonsils out, but talking
about it here at the office, we could have sworn no one does that anymore.
Luckily for us, SSDragon19 asked us to do a video about tonsils; and every Monday we
like to answer one of YOUR questions!
Because, y'all are great and stuff.
If you open your mouth wide and look in the back -- you'll see two palatine tonsils are
tucked up in the back on the top right and left sides behind the hanging thing -- that's
called the uvula by the way.
Those two palatine tonsils are part of a defensive barrier called the Waldeyer ring which protects
the largest gaping entrance for bacterial and viral infections to your body -- your
ears, nose and throat.
You've got those two, plus two adenoids at the back of the nasal cavity, a single lingual
tonsil down your throat on the tongue; and a few others.
This Waldeyer ring of tonsils and adenoids are an important part of the lymphatic system.
Which (among other things) produces and moves white blood cells and bacteria-eating lymphocytes
around the body to defend it.
Tonsils hold B-cells; which are like scouts for the immune system -- they look for bacterial
invaders, and if they're found they send for reinforcements!
Once the cells figure out how to beat the invader, they call for antibodies to be produced
which search the body for other viruses or bacteria that need kicking out.
Tonsils are part of the lymphatic system, because they are basically exposed lymph nodes.
The lymphatic system balances the fluids in our bodies, and also helps us fight infections.
See, capillaries are constantly leaking water and proteins into the tissues around them.
If we did nothing about it, we'd swell up.
So the lymphatic system takes that clear, colorless fluid, called lymph, which also
contains white blood cells and bacteria-eating lymphocytes from the soft tissues to the lymph
nodes for cleaning.
If there's an infection the lymph systems clean it out using that fluid, which is why
lymph nodes in your groin, neck, chest, abdomen, and armpits swell to indicate an infection;
just like those old buggers the tonsils!
They get infected more often between the ages of 4 and 10 years old, because the immune
system is more active in kids than adults.
After 11, the tonsils shrink.
Swollen tonsils can cause breathing problems, sleep apnea, or increase risk of other bacterial
infections; not to mention the sickness causing the swelling.
Normally, they’re removed if they become infected multiple times in a single year,
and though it's less common than 60 years ago, there are still 380,000 tonsillectomies
annually in the U.S..
So what do the tonsils do?
They're the body's version of a guard tower.
But, the reason you can live without your tonsils is because we've got a pretty awesome
immune system!
Thanks for your question SSDragon19!
Do you have a science question YOU want answered?
Ask us in the comments and if we pick yours you can get some fun DNews swag!
Maybe even a DNews t-shirt!
Subscribe to DNews and tell us if you've got your tonsils, too.
I've got mine.
I was super jealous of all that ice cream.