Tonsils and Adenoids

Technically, there are three sets of tonsils: the pharyngeal tonsils, commonly known as adenoids, the palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. People refer to tonsils usually as the palatine tonsils, which are oval, pea-sized clusters of lymph cells at the opening of either side of the throat. Their role is to filter bacteria and viruses and produce white blood cells and antibodies. Tonsils are the first line of defense as part of the immune system.

Adenoids or pharyngeal tonsils are clusters of lymphatic tissue in the back of the nose, above the roof of the mouth. They begin to shrink by age 7 or 8, are barely visible by the late teens, and completely gone by adulthood. Adenoids are covered with cilia and mucus. The small hairs wave about to spread mucus, which is carried to the stomach by swallowing. The purpose of the mucus is to capture infectious bacteria, dust, and other particles and flush them away.

Bottom line, all adenoids are tonsils, but not all tonsils are adenoids.