I was thinking about it on my walk the other day, after I took a swig of water and it went down the wrong way.
For those of you who don't know, or even really care, the uvula is the little ball of skin hanging down in the back your throat. Some people have normal ones, while other people might have a very shallow one, or a split one, or a too long one. In fact, The Doctors show that I was watching was talking about people even piercing them.
Why? I have no earthly idea. Just the thought of someone putting something that deep in my mouth just makes me want to urp. Throat swabs, anyone?
For decades, doctors didn't really know the uvula's function, but now they think they do.
It's a little helper to keep stuff out of your lungs.
Cool, huh?
Personally, I just like the way it wiggles and giggles and does a little dance . . .
Every time you swallow the little flap of flesh pulls up and covers the entrance into your trachea. The show didn't go into detail about it, but they did show how it worked on a person from the audience by using a small camera and light.
Isn't technology just too cool for school?
So when you swallow a drink of water wrong or or inhale a tiny particle of food and have to cough up a lung puppy to get it out, it's because the uvula is telling you who really IS the boss of you! Treat it right or your time is up, bub!
Just another piece of trivia brought to you by Stircrazymom!
Later, peeps!
I'll be honest...I've never given the uvula a second of thought!
ReplyDeleteBut I'll confess I love The Doctors.
From my one term as a speech pathology major: the uvula is also used in speech. Those guttural sounds heard in non English languages are created by the uvula, the back of the throat, the palate and breath.
ReplyDeleteFor our tests in phonetics, our instructor would give us two or three words, and we had to write what all the body parts are doing to create each sound -- the tongue, the lips, the teeth, the larynx, the pharynx, the nasopharynx, the uvula, the lungs, etc.
Notice I said ONE term.:)
Admit it, Cyndi, you love The Doctors for the same reason I do--Dr. Travis. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight, Marilyn! It's amazing what the body can do and how it all works together as a functioning unit!
Never underestimate what people will pierce. Ewww.
ReplyDelete