Before we reach the age of seven, our tonsils are still an important training camp for our immune cells. Building a healthy immune system is not only important for warding off colds; it also has an important part to play in keeping our hearts healthy and in controlling body weight. For example, removing the tonsils of a child younger than seven can lead to an increased risk of obesity.
An overreaction of the immune system causes itchy skin lesions (often starting at the head), and painful inflammation of the joints. Psoriasis patients also have an above-average vulnerability to sore throats. One possible factor in this is bacteria, which can hide in the tonsils for long periods of time and rankle the immune system from there. For more than thirty years, doctors have described cases of psoriasis patients whose skin condition improved or cleared up entirely following a tonsillectomy.
There is something happening every second in our mouths: salivary papillae shoot out nets of mucin, take care of our teeth, and protect us from the effects of oversensitivity. Our tonsillar ring keeps watch for foreign particles, and uses them to train its immune army. But we would need none of this, if the story did not continue beyond our mouth. It is simply the gateway to a world where the external becomes internalized.
The first thing we notice is that the esophagus can’t aim properly. Rather than taking the shortest route and aiming for the middle of the stomach, it enters the organ on the right-hand side. This is a smart move. Surgeons would call such a connection terminolateral’. It may mean taking a little detour, but it’s well worth it. When simply walking normally, we tense our abdominal muscles, doubling the pressure in our abdomen with every step we take. When we laugh or cough, for example, that pressure increases by several times. Since the abdomen presses against the stomach from below, it would be a bad idea for the esophagus to dock directly onto the top end of the stomach. Connected as it is at the side, it has to deal with only a fraction of the pressure. It is thanks to this arrangement that we can take a walk after a heavy meal without having to burp with every step. This clever angle and its closing mechanism are also to thank for the fact that, although a fit of laughter might result in us losing a little control over our outer sphincter and inadvertently letting out a little laughing gas a few people have been known to vomit from laughing.
A side effect of this lateral connection is the so-called gastric bubble. This small bubble of air at the top of the stomach can be seen clearly on X-rays. Air rises vertically, after all, and does not search out a side exit. This bubble is the reason that many people find they have to swallow a little air in order to burp. This swallowing motion moves the opening of the esophagus a little closer to the bubble, and – hey presto! – the burp can make its upward journey to freedom. Those who need to burp while lying down can make the process easier by lying on their left side. If you’re kept awake at night by a bloated stomach, and you are lying on your right side, the best thing to do is simply to turn over.
Looking very closely, it can be seen that some muscle fibers run around the esophagus in a spiral pattern. They are the reason for its’ gargly’ motion. If you extend these fires lengthways, they constrict spirally, like a telephone receiver cable. Bundles of fibers connect the esophagus to the spinal column. Sitting up straight and looking upwards stretches the esophagus along its length. This causes it to narrow, in turn allowing it to close more efficiently at each end. That is why sitting or standing up straight can help prevent heartburn after a large meal.
Our stomach sits much higher in our abdomen than we think. It begins just below the left nipple and ends below the bottom of the ribcage on the right. Any pain felt further down than this lopsided little pouch cannot be stomach ache. Often, when people say they have stomach problems, the trouble is actually in the gut. The heart and the lungs sit on top of the stomach. This explains why we find it more difficult to breathe deeply after eating a lot.
Roemheld syndrome, when so much gas collects in the stomach that it presses against the heart and the vagus nerve, which innervates many of our internal organs. Sufferers may display a range of different symptoms, including dizziness and discomfort. In more severe cases, Roemheld syndrome can cause anxiety or difficulty in breathing, and may also lead to severe chest pain that feels like a heart attack.
One side is much longer than the other, and so the entire organ has to bend double. This creates large folds inside it. The stomach could be called the Quasimodo of the digestive organs. But its misshapen appearance has a deeper meaning. When we take a drink of water, the liquid is able to flow straight down the shorter, right-hand side of the stomach to end up at the entrance to the small intestine. Food, on the other hand, plops against the larger side of the stomach. So, our digestive pouch cunningly separates the substances it still needs to work on, to break them down, from fluids that it can wave straight on through to the next digestive station. Our stomach is not simply lopsided; rather, it has two sides with different specializations. One side copes better with fluids; the other, with solids. Two stomachs for the price of one, so to speak.
Source – Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders, Jill Enders (Illustrator)
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23013953-gut
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