Absence of Uvula in South Sinai Bedouins

Abstract

To the Editor.— One of the most serious problems of the Bedouins living in South Sinai is shortage of drinking water because of few rainfalls and scant wells. The Bedouins believe that removal of the uvula decreases thirst. When I served as a physician among the Bedouins in the South of Sinai, I noticed that all members of a Bedouin tribe had no uvula. Instead of a uvula, some persons had just a stump. Others, in addition to that, had a defect in the soft palate. I found out that during the first year of life the uvula is removed. This operation is performed by an old member of the tribe who travels from camp to camp for this purpose. He owns a tweezer-like instrument with which he clamps the uvula and cuts above the clamp with a hot knife. When this Bedouin became ill, the operation was performed by