the.com/tonsil
A bouncer for your throat that mostly just causes problems and gets fired.
means Either of the two small masses of lymphoid tissue at the back of the throat, part of the immune system's defenses (and famously prone to infection).
from From Latin 'tonsillae,' the plural word Romans used for these throat glands — and tellingly they almost always spoke of them in pairs. The root is uncertain, but it may be related to 'toles,' an old Latin term for a swelling or goiter in the neck, which fits a body part chiefly noticed when it's swollen and sore.
- immune role
- Traps germs entering through mouth and nose
- cryptic depth
- Riddled with crypts that breed smelly tonsil stones
- removal record
- One of the most common childhood surgeries
- grows back
- Can partially regenerate from leftover tissue
- four total
- Includes adenoids and lingual tonsils, not just two
palatine tonsils — paired lymphoid tissue in the oropharynx, present in ~95% of humans, commonly removed via tonsillectomy
pharyngeal tonsil — adenoid tissue in nasopharynx, enlarged in children with chronic upper airway obstruction
lingual tonsils — lymphoid tissue at base of tongue, part of waldeyer's ring immune defense system