The throat is that part of the human body, which connects the mouth and stomach and also nose to the trachea (the pipe which takes air to the lungs). The throat has two important glands, the tonsils and the adenoids. The tonsils are two oval shaped glands, which are located, one on each side, at the back of the mouth. The adenoids are located in the upper back wall of the oral cavity (back of the nose). Both these glands are made of lymphatic tissue, and primarily function to help fight infections (commonly the function of all lymphatic tissues).
We hear about both these glands mostly in the context of childhood infections, leading to enlargement of the glands. The infection of tonsils is called tonsillitis and that of the adenoids is called adenoiditis. These glands when infected, increase in size and create symptoms of sore throat, itchy throat, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing and fever. A decade ago, the common treatment for this was to remove the tonsils and adenoids with a short surgical procedure. But in the last few years, after the advent of newer and more effective antibiotics, the need for a surgical procedure has been reduced. Now tonsillitis and adenoiditis are primarily treated with an antibiotic course and only if the infection is recurrent, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are performed.
This recurrent tonsillitis and adenoiditis is mostly not seen in adulthood, but there are other complications that arise out of tonsillitis and adenoid hypertrophy in adulthood. The most severe out of this is obstructive sleep apnea. The enlargement in size of the adenoids leads to difficulty breathing (since adenoids are located in the area connecting the nose and throat, it blocks the passage of air when enlarged). When a person sleeps, because of the relaxed muscle tone in the throat, the enlarged glands block the air passage, leading to an increased effort of breathing (snoring). In an extreme case of blocking, there is temporary stoppage of breathing, then, with a gasp, breathing starts again. This chain of events continues on throughout the night , leading to disturbed sleep. This in turn leads to tiredness and sleepiness during the daytime, contributing to reducing work efficiency during the day. Sleep apnea is said to affect about 1 in 15 individuals. The common treatment is the CPAP device which helps keep the airway open. Surgical measures include removing the adenoids.