Cindy Wynne, age 11, of St. Louis, Missouri, for his question:

Why do we have tonsils?

Obviously our tonsils were not put there for the purpose of being taken out. They have a far more useful purpose and it's too bad when we have to lose them. The palatine tonsils are those spongy little sacks in back of the mouth on either side of the throat. There are other tonsils farther down the throat and the adenoids in back of the nose also are tonsils. All of them are useful because they are made of lymphoid tissue.

This very special tissue manufactures lymphocytes, which are white blood cells. These little warriors are duty bound to fight germs. The tonsils, with their armies of lymphocytes, are well placed to attack harmful germs that enter by way of the mouth and nose. But sometimes the battle is won by the enemies. Then the tonsils themselves become infected and a tonsillectomy may be necessary.