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The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste buds housed in numerous lingual papillae.
In human anatomy, the mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and produces saliva. [2] The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth. In addition to its primary role as the beginning of the digestive system, the mouth also plays a significant role in communication.
Lingual tonsils are covered externally by stratified squamous epithelium (nonkeratinized) that invaginates inward forming tonsillar crypts.Beneath the epithelium is a layer of lymphoid nodules containing lymphocytes.
the mucosa of the floor of mouth and the tongue superiorly; the mylohyoid muscle inferiorly; the medial surface of the mandible anterolaterally; the muscles along the base of the tongue (geniohyoid and genioglossus muscles) posteriorly; medially, the intrinsic muscles of the tongue and genioglossus separate the two halves of the sublingual space.
Lingual papillae, particularly filiform papillae, are thought to increase the surface area of the tongue and to increase the area of contact and friction between the tongue and food. [2] This may increase the tongue's ability to manipulate a bolus of food, and also to position food between the teeth during mastication (chewing) and swallowing.
The tongue is a specialized skeletal muscle that is specially adapted for the activities of speech, chewing, developing gustatory sense (taste) and swallowing. The tongue contains two sets of muscles, the intrinsic- involved with shape of tongue, and the extrinsic- involved with tongue movement. It is attached to the hyoid bone.
Ankyloglossia, also known as tongue-tie, is a congenital anomaly characterised by an abnormally short lingual frenulum; when severe, the tip of the tongue cannot be protruded beyond the lower incisor teeth. [6] There are two generalized classifications of ankyloglossia, anterior and posterior tongue-ties.
The glossopharyngeal nerve continues past the palatine tonsil and innervates the posterior 1/3 of the tongue to provide general and taste sensation. [6] This nerve is most likely to be damaged during a tonsillectomy, which leads to reduced or lost general sensation and taste sensation to the posterior third of the tongue. [7] [8]