tongue
Sign in to saveThe 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. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels. The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning the teeth. A major function of the tongue is to enable speech in humans and vocalization in other animals.
AI overview
The tongue is a muscular organ in your mouth that plays several essential roles: it helps you chew and swallow food, allows you to taste, assists in keeping your teeth clean, and enables you to speak. It's covered with taste buds and is kept moist and sensitive by saliva, with plenty of nerves and blood vessels running through it.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Anatomy.Name
- Tongue
- Anatomy.Latin
- lingua
- Anatomy.Greek
- γλῶσσα (glôssa)
- Anatomy.Image
- زبان tongue.jpg
- Anatomy.Caption
- The human tongue
- Anatomy.Precursor
- Pharyngeal arches, lateral lingual swelling, tuberculum impar
- Anatomy.Artery
- Lingual, tonsillar branch, ascending pharyngeal
- Anatomy.Vein
- Lingual
- Anatomy.Nerve
- SensoryAnterior two-thirds: Lingual (sensation) and chorda tympani (taste)Posterior one-third: Glossopharyngeal (IX)MotorHypoglossal (XII), except palatoglossus muscle supplied by the pharyngeal plexus via vagus (X)
- Anatomy.Lymph
- Deep cervical, submandibular, submental
- Anatomy.System
- Alimentary tract, gustatory system
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
33 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- In humans
- Structure
- Upper surface
- Undersurface
- Muscles
- Extrinsic
- Intrinsic
- Blood supply
- Nerve supply
- Lymphatic drainage
- Microanatomy
- Development
- Function
- Taste
- Mastication
- Speech
- Intimacy
- Clinical significance
- Disease
- Medication delivery
- Other animals
- Society and culture
- Figures of speech
- Gestures
- Body art
- Representational art
- As food
- Gallery
- See also
- Further reading
- References
- External links
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. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels. The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning the teeth. A major function of the tongue is to enable speech in humans and vocalization in other animals.
The human tongue is divided into two parts, an oral part at the front and a pharyngeal part at the back. The left and right sides are also separated along most of its length by a vertical section of fibrous tissue (the lingual septum) that results in a groove, the median sulcus, on the tongue's surface.