what is the hangy ball in the back of your throat called, and can you live without it?

Answer 1

It's called a uvula. You can live without it because if it gets infected with throat cancer, it is routinely removed.

Answer 2

Here ya go: (and it's pronounced YOO-view-la)

Uvula: The small piece of soft tissue that can be seen dangling down from the soft palate over the back of the tongue. The uvula is described variously shaped like a U, a tear or a grape. Its name comes from the Latin word for "grape," uva.

The uvula has its own little muscle, the musculus uvuae, to help it stiffen and change shape, so it helps fill in the space at the back of the throat. It helps keep food from going down the wrong way down the breathing passage when one swallows. Singers credit the uvula with letting them produce a vibrato, a wavy up-and-down sound.

The uvula is one of the soft-tissue structures commonly blamed for snoring and for sleep apnea (a break in breathing during sleep). Some treatments for these conditions involve removing excess flesh from the uvula and surrounding areas. The surgery, called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, is designed to tighten up flabby tissues and enlarge the upper air passages.

Answer 3

Uvula. It can be removed if it causes snoring or sleep apnea. However, it is a very painful surgery so only done if needed.

Answer 4

1. Uvula
2. Yes

Answer 5

THE UVULA IS USEFUL FOR WHEN YOU SWALLOW.
IT'S THERE TO PLUG A SMALL VOID WHEN THE VARIOUS MUSCLES IN THE PHARYNX CONTRACT DURING THIS REFLEX.
W/O IT FOOD AND OR LIQUID WOULD COME OUT OF YOUR NOSE.