Tongue | Structure and Function

Tongue

Tongue is a muscular part situated on the floor of the mouth, which helps in chewing and swallowing of food (deglutition). Since the surface of tongue is covered with the papillae and taste buds, it is considered as the cheif organ for taste perception. Speech is another function promoted by tongue. Tongue is a very sensitive organ which remains moistened with the saliva. A large amount of nerves and blood vessels innervated the tongue. thereby helping in its movement.

The skeletal muscle builds upon the tongue, which start from the posterior edge of the mouth and moves into the oropharynx, thereby, extending much further than it actually appears.

Separated by a V- shaped groove which make the terminal sulcus, the dorsal layer (upper surface) of the tongue has two parts:

1> As oral part, laying in the mouth (anterior two-thirds of the tongue), and

2> A pharyngeal part, facing backward to the oropharynx (posterior third part of the tongue)

Structure Of tongue:

Tongue originates from the floor of the mouth and is attached to the hyoid bone and mandible. Taste buds are organs of taste or gustation which are present on the mucosa of papillae located on the tongue.

The pharynx, epiglonis and epithelial layer of soft palate also contain taste buds. Human tongue possesses approximately 10000 taste buds, among which about 100 are present on the papilla.

A taste bud is a sec-like oval shaped structure of about 50 micrometer in size. it opens at the surface of tongue by taste pore and contains two types of spindle-shape cells.

Click here for read complete post = Tongue