Adenoids and Diseased Tonsils: Their Effect on General Intelligence

A controlled psychological and statistical investigation examines whether enlarged adenoids and diseased tonsils affect children's measured intelligence and school performance. Standardized mental tests were given to selected cases before and at several intervals after surgical removal, and results were compared with a randomly chosen control group. Findings indicate a brief postoperative decline followed by notable gains in test scores and pedagogical records relative to controls. The discussion considers mechanisms such as impaired breathing, infection, fatigue, and reduced attention as mediators of academic underperformance and concludes that removal of these defects can produce measurable improvement in cognitive functioning and school efficiency.