A large, snow-white ulcer swelled up on the dangly tissue at the back of a man's throat, but doctors couldn't immediately explain why. It turns out that a single-celled parasite was the culprit, and it had likely been hanging around the man's body for five years.
According to a new report of the case, published Thursday (Aug. 17) in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, the 62-year-old man initially went to the doctor about a sore throat. He had no recent travel history or contact with sick people, but the midline of his throat had been hurting for two weeks. An examination of his throat revealed bumps decorating the tissue, as well as sticky, yellow mucus and an ulcer on his uvula, the tissue that hangs in the back of the mouth.
