Grace Vukovich, age 10, of Denton, Texas, for her question:

DO TONSILS HAVE ANY VALUE?

A tonsil is a mass of special tissue called lymphoid tissue in the throat. Connective tissue and mucous membrane cover it. The tissue forms white blood cells, called lymphocytes, the germ fighters of the blood. Because of this, doctors believe that tonsils help destroy harmful bacteria..

The throat is actually surrounded by a ring of tonsil tissue. The palatine tonsils are the best known. In human beings, a palatine tonsil can be seen on each side of the back of the mouth just above the throat and below the roof of the mouth.

Other tonsils that are not so easily seen are the lingual tonsils at the back of the tongue and the tubal tonsils at the entrance of the Eustachian tube. The pharyngeal tonsils, commonly called the adenoids, grow at the back of the nose.

The palatine tonsils of children are larger than those of adults. When badly infected they may almost block the throat. Some doctors remove them in an operation called a tonsillectomy.