What is the purpose of the tonsils/adenoids? Why would it be a good idea to have them removed? Why would it be a bad idea to have them removed?

The term tonsil commonly refers to a pair of deep pink structures, one on each side of the back of the throat.  However thse are only one of three types of tonsils. These are called palatine, or faucial, tonsils.  The two other kinds of tonsils are the pharyngeal tonsils and the lingual tonsils.  Pharyngeal tonsils, commonly called adenoids, are located in the back of the throat near the nasal passage.  Lingual tonsils are located at the back of the tongue.  These three types of tonsils form a continuous ring around the back of the throat.

The purpose of tonsils is not known to scientists with certainty, but many medical scientists believe they aid in protecting the respiratory and digestive systems from infection, by being the first tissues to infection in the digstive and respiratoty tracts, and in this way alerting the body system to fight the infection.

Sometimes the tonsils become badly inflamed and must be removed by a surgical operation.