REMOVING TONSILS AND APPENDIX IS LIKE CUTTING A PIECE OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

The movement of scientific thought in the 19th and 20th centuries was so rapid that scientists fell into a certain arrogance. Everything in the structure of the human body that could not be explained was immediately declared rudimentary, 'unnecessary': tonsils, thymus, pineal gland, appendix... At the beginning of the 20th century, after Ilya Mechnikov discovered putrefactive fermentation in the intestines, it was agreed that the large intestine was also unnecessary, and surgeons removed it from more than a thousand advanced supporters of science…

But gradually science rehabilitated the "rudiments" one by one. Currently, Ukrainian and American oncologists have come to practically the same conclusions: people with removed tonsils (glands) are three times more likely to develop cancer. The same, they believe, happens to those who have lost their appendix. By the way, Americans were the most zealous in the fight against "unnecessary" organs. They removed tonsils and, at the same time, the appendix from all newborns. And when the polio epidemic occurred in the 1950s, these children suffered severely and died first.

And here’s what’s interesting: by the time of conscription into the army, those who had their tonsils removed were 20 cm shorter than their peers, frail, sickly, and mentally retarded. It was then that it was understood that tonsils and appendix play an important role in immunity. Now American specialists acknowledge: out of a million residents of the USA who had their tonsils removed, 999 thousand did not need it. Removing tonsils and appendix is like cutting a piece of the immune system.

Research has shown that the role of tonsils is to protect the body from infections. More than 70% of harmful microbes that enter our body with air settle on them. Moreover, tonsils produce biological substances that help synthesize cells involved in blood formation.

Those who have parted with their tonsils develop secondary immunodeficiency (AIDS) - they are more likely to suffer from inflammatory and allergic diseases of the upper respiratory tract (pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, bronchitis), influenza, and other diseases. Recently, Ukrainian scientists stated that tonsils resist cancer: having studied several hundred medical histories, specialists found that patients with removed tonsils suffer from cancer of the upper respiratory tract, digestive tract, and lungs 3-8 times more often than others. The depressions in the tonsils (crypts) turned out to be a kind of laboratory where the antigenic composition of what enters from the outside (food, air, microorganisms) is recognized, and then protective proteins are formed.

Scientists have isolated several protein compounds from tonsils with active immunomodulatory properties. Studying their effect on cancer cells of the larynx and human blood, it was found that they can kill, on average, every fifth such cell. When these compounds were administered to animals, their survival rate with tumors significantly increased.

It is important to refrain from surgery on the very young also because tonsils prevent food allergies. Statistics show: 70 percent of children with dysbiosis and food allergies do not have tonsils.

Scientists have concluded that tonsils, for example, are among the central organs that manage local immunity of mucous membranes. In addition, for immunity, they are equal in importance to such luminaries as the thymus and bone marrow. Now doctors are convinced that tonsils should categorically not be removed before the age of 8, and even at an older age – it is extremely undesirable. The fact is that the mucous membranes create traps for insidious antigens in the folds of the tonsils, and at the same time, a special type of B-lymphocytes develops here, responsible for the safety of the respiratory tract and the upper part of the digestive tract. Their development begins as early as the 18-week-old fetus, especially intensively from ages 3 to 8, after which the intensity of B-lymphocyte production declines but never completely stops. Moreover, inflammation of the tonsils is a kind of natural vaccination, allowing the body to gain immunity to the antigen that caused the inflammation for many years, for example, streptococcus or a specific strain of the influenza virus. Accordingly, the earlier the tonsils are removed, the more defenseless our body becomes against infections of the mucous membranes, throat, and esophagus. Interestingly, in the Middle Ages, the removal of tonsils was done simply: the doctor scraped them out with his nails from the patient's throat.

Adenoids serve a similar function. Together with the palatine, lingual, and laryngeal tonsils, adenoids form the so-called Waldeyer's lymphoid ring, a closed line of defense against infection. Pull out one link of the chain – and the entire defense crumbles to dust.

And, of course, let’s not forget about the appendix. A large number of lymphatic follicles have been found in the submucosal layer of the appendix walls, protecting the intestines from both infectious and oncological diseases. Due to the abundance of lymphoid tissue, the appendix is sometimes even referred to as the "intestinal tonsil." This comparison is not far-fetched: if the tonsils in the throat are a barrier to infection rushing into the respiratory tract, the appendix "slows down" microbes trying to multiply in the contents of the intestines.

Scientists from the Duke University Medical Center (USA) have confirmed: the appendix serves an important function – it acts as a depot for beneficial bacteria living in the intestines, helping to form immunity.

Beneficial bacteria living in our intestines not only aid digestion but also support immunity. They synthesize antibodies – immunoglobulins and mucin, which suppress the reproduction of harmful microbes. But sometimes beneficial bacteria cannot cope with an infection, leading to diarrhea. This is a protective response to infection, during which pathogenic bacteria are expelled from the intestinal tract. However, beneficial ones are also expelled. But part of them is necessarily preserved in the appendix. The entrance to it is very narrow – no more than 1-2 mm, so it is quite difficult for harmful microbes to penetrate there. And when diarrhea ends, beneficial microbes repopulate the entire intestine.

As is known, lymphoid tissue plays the most active role in all protective reactions of the body without exception. Its islands-subdivisions are scattered throughout the body and control certain areas of it. If a virus, pathogenic microorganism, in short, a foreign antigen enters through a cut or wound, the nearest lymph node will be the first to engage in a protective reaction. When the antigenic diversion is massive and cannot be easily suppressed by local forces, general mobilization is declared, and the entire immune system is involved in the defense.

There is a channel in the body through which the entry of foreign substances occurs regularly – this is the digestive tract. However, the antigens present in food are destroyed into universal proteins before entering the blood, which do not carry the imprint of foreign genetic information. And still, alongside non-antigenic molecules, antigenic ones can slip through. It would be incorrect to think that the vermiform appendix participates in protective reactions only of local significance. Thanks to its powerful lymphoid apparatus, the appendix becomes a constant and active participant in all processes in the body that are accompanied by any pronounced immune response. For example, clinical observations have shown that people with a removed appendix have better organ transplant acceptance!

So, today, two main functions of the appendix have been proven: first, the vermiform appendix is an important organ of the immune system, and second, it serves as a breeding ground for Escherichia coli. This bacterium is a vital component of the body's microflora. Without it, normal absorption of certain fatty acids, carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleic acids is impossible; without it, vitamin K and B vitamins cannot be synthesized, it participates in the regulation of water-salt metabolism, secretes peptidoglycan, which stimulates our immune system, and performs several other functions.

If the palatine tonsils are removed (or an infection is missed), then further, most likely, the stomach will just hurt or the disease will develop whose pathogen has entered the body. But if the appendix is absent? Then the pathogen will go further – to the groin lymph nodes. In the patient, they will most likely become inflamed, which means there may be a disruption in the functioning of the pelvic organs (i.e., the urinary and reproductive tracts), and this, in turn, may lead to, at best, inflammation of the bladder or urinary ducts, and at worst – infertility.

Therefore, it is so necessary to preserve this organ of the immune system, and the best prevention of appendicitis is proper, healthy nutrition, as well as a healthy lifestyle, refusal of synthetic drugs and vaccines, etc.

It is important to remember that God created man in the best image, and only ignorance leads to some organs being declared "unnecessary" by doctors.