Bouncing Bill Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Have you ever experienced Sphenopalatineganglioneuralgia? It is the term for 'cold headache'. You know, when you gulp something cold and the middle of your forehead hurts. It is caused by the vasodilation of blood vessels. Great trivia question. Ukulelemike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ukulelemike Posted November 16, 2020 Moderators Share Posted November 16, 2020 Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of your uvula? That little dangly thing at the back of your throat, which many in science, (unsurprisingly), say is an unnecessary evolutionary leftover, actually serves at least 2 purposes: 1: it helps direct food and liquids down the esophagus, rather than allowing it to go up into your nasal passages. 2: It acts as part of your immune system by catching many bad bacteria and keeping them from going down into your stomach. Not sure what it does with it then, but there it is. Also, uvulectomies are fairly common as a cure for snoring and sleep apnea, because, hey, evolution, who needs it, right? Haven't read much on negative results from it. And only humans and 1 species of baboon have uvulas. I learned all this recently after a friend had some oral stiches loosen and went back into his throat while sleeping and wrapped around his uvula, making him very sick. The doctor discovered it and removed it, but that got him wondering what would have happened had it cut off the uvula, and so I learned some new things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bouncing Bill Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 2 hours ago, Ukulelemike said: Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of your uvula? That little dangly thing at the back of your throat, which many in science, (unsurprisingly), say is an unnecessary evolutionary leftover, actually serves at least 2 purposes: 1: it helps direct food and liquids down the esophagus, rather than allowing it to go up into your nasal passages. 2: It acts as part of your immune system by catching many bad bacteria and keeping them from going down into your stomach. Not sure what it does with it then, but there it is. Also, uvulectomies are fairly common as a cure for snoring and sleep apnea, because, hey, evolution, who needs it, right? Haven't read much on negative results from it. And only humans and 1 species of baboon have uvulas. I learned all this recently after a friend had some oral stiches loosen and went back into his throat while sleeping and wrapped around his uvula, making him very sick. The doctor discovered it and removed it, but that got him wondering what would have happened had it cut off the uvula, and so I learned some new things! If the uvula does not work correctly you know it quickly. Also, if the epiglottis folds fail to perform correctly you have real problems as well. It is a miracle anyone lives to be 5 years old and is still healthy, much less my age. So much can go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ukulelemike Posted November 16, 2020 Moderators Share Posted November 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Bouncing Bill said: If the uvula does not work correctly you know it quickly. Also, if the epiglottis folds fail to perform correctly you have real problems as well. It is a miracle anyone lives to be 5 years old and is still healthy, much less my age. So much can go wrong. God truly made us with great care. Evolution would have seen everything foul up too easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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