Why do most humans have pockets on their tonsils?Seriously, why?
Most humans have little pockets, or dents, on their tonsils. But a lot of times, food or snot gets stuck in the dents and causes infections.
What are the purpose for those pockets? I know they're causing me a lot of pain right now :-((
Kimberly T
I have a funny story about me playing doctor with these things, because I thought I could get those bad tasting things out mind you I didn't know they were my tonsils at the time. Get ahold of your doctor, or see a nose- thought -ear doctor, they will help you. Do not do something dumb like I did!!!
Orinoco_W
Whenever the body has these little indentations or protrusions it is usually in aid of increasing the body surface area. Other examples of these pockets or finger-protrusions occur in:
o The Lung (alveoli)
o The Gut (crypts and villi of the intestine)
In the case of the Tonsils, this is in order to expose the air and saliva at the back of the mouth to the lymphoid tissue of the tonsils. The tonsils act as a form of immune-cell protection for the back of the throat (and the adenoids a little further up in the naso-pharynx do the same job there).
Particles can collect in the crypts, but also microscopic intruders (bacteria etc) have a large chance of being exposed to white blood cells which can either directly ingest the offending intruders or stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against them.
Helpful answer below. Tonsillitis explained | Better Health Channel
Links to information about tonsillitis , including tonsillectomy.
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