Tongue
The tongue is a strong, flexible, and muscular organ located in the mouth. It plays a key role in everyday actions such as eating, speaking, and interacting with our environment. Covered with a moist mucous membrane, the surface of the tongue contains many tiny bumps called papillae, some of which house the taste buds. These taste buds detect different tastes like sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, allowing us to enjoy a wide variety of flavors.
The tongue is made up of several groups of muscles that work together to allow precise and varied movements. It can change shape, stretch, curl, and move in different directions with great control. This is what makes it so important for helping to position food during chewing, as well as shaping sounds during speech.
The upper surface of the tongue (the dorsum) has a rough texture because of the papillae, while the underside is smoother and has visible blood vessels. The tongue is attached at the back to the floor of the mouth, and at the front, it is connected by a small fold of tissue called the lingual frenulum. In addition to aiding in eating and talking, the tongue also plays a role in keeping the mouth clean by helping move food particles around and aiding in swallowing.
1 The tongue is called muscular because it is made mostly of muscles that allow it to move in many directions for talking, eating, and swallowing.
2 A mucous membrane is a moist tissue lining parts of the body like the mouth; it protects, keeps the area moist, and helps trap harmful particles.
3 Spiciness isn’t a taste but a sensation caused by nerve receptors reacting to chemicals like capsaicin, which is why papillae taste only five basic tastes.
4 Visible blood vessels under the tongue help deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove waste; their thin tissue makes the vessels easy to see.
5 Blood vessels are tubes (arteries, veins, capillaries) that carry blood throughout the body, supplying oxygen and nutrients and removing waste.
6 The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth that helps with tasting, speaking, chewing, swallowing, and sensing texture and temperature.
7 The tongue helps start swallowing by pushing food back but does not directly cause peristalsis, which is the involuntary muscle movement moving food through the digestive tract.