Raise your hand if you or someone you know has had their tonsils removed. If your hand is sky-high, there’s a pretty good chance that you (or that person you know) are from the US and were born before 1980. Of course, maybe that’s not the case, but tonsillectomies certainly fit in the category of 20th century fads, along with Tamagotchis and the Atkins diet. While the procedure is still widely performed today (and for very good reasons), the frequency of tonsillectomies has dropped drastically from mid-20th century rates. In this episode, we explore why tonsillectomies became so popular, when they fell out of favor, and what about tonsils makes them worthy of removal. Tune in to be horrified by ancient tonsil removal techniques, shocked at how long it takes new knowledge to change policies, and appreciative of just how cool tonsils actually are.
| History | Biology |
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| Esposito, S., De Guido, C., Pappalardo, M., Laudisio, S., Meccariello, G., Capoferri, G., Rahman, S., Vicini, C. and Principi, N., 2022. Retropharyngeal, parapharyngeal and peritonsillar abscesses. Children, 9(5), p.618. | |
| Manthiram, K., 2023. What is PFAPA syndrome? Genetic clues about the pathogenesis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology, 35(6), pp.423-428. | |
| Šumilo, D., Nichols, L., Ryan, R. and Marshall, T., 2019. Incidence of indications for tonsillectomy and frequency of evidence-based surgery: a 12-year retrospective cohort study of primary care electronic records. British Journal of General Practice, 69(678), pp.e33-e41. | |
| Mitchell, R.B., Archer, S.M., Ishman, S.L., Rosenfeld, R.M., Coles, S., Finestone, S.A., Friedman, N.R., Giordano, T., Hildrew, D.M., Kim, T.W. and Lloyd, R.M., 2019. Clinical practice guideline: tonsillectomy in children (update). Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 160(1_suppl), pp.S1-S42. | |
| Kay, D.J., Bryson, P.C. and Casselbrant, M., 2005. Rates and risk factors for subsequent tonsillectomy after prior adenoidectomy: a regression analysis. Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 131(3), pp.252-255. | |
| Edmonson, M.B., Zhao, Q., Francis, D.O., Kelly, M.M., Sklansky, D.J., Shadman, K.A. and Coller, R.J., 2022. Association of patient characteristics with postoperative mortality in children undergoing tonsillectomy in 5 US states. JAMA, 327(23), pp.2317-2325. | |
| Wagar, L.E., Salahudeen, A., Constantz, C.M., Wendel, B.S., Lyons, M.M., Mallajosyula, V., Jatt, L.P., Adamska, J.Z., Blum, L.K., Gupta, N. and Jackson, K.J., 2021. Modeling human adaptive immune responses with tonsil organoids. Nature medicine, 27(1), pp.125-135. | |
| Kim, H.K., Kim, H., Lee, M.K., Choi, W.H., Jang, Y., Shin, J.S., Park, J.Y., Bae, D.H., Hyun, S.I., Kim, K.H. and Han, H.W., 2022. Generation of human tonsil epithelial organoids as an ex vivo model for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Biomaterials, 283, p.121460. | |
| Sulibhavi, A. and Isaacson, G., 2021. TikTok tonsils. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal, p.01455613211038340. |
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