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Lecture

Anatomy of the Tongue

In course

BIO-320: Morphology I

Ce cours est une préparation intensive à l'examen d'entrée en 3ème année de Médecine. Les matières enseignées sont la morphologie macroscopique (anatomie), microscopique (histologie) du corps humain. La matière est présentée dans une perspective médicale s ...

Description

This lecture covers the anatomy of the tongue, including the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles, the lingual mucosa, and the sublingual and submandibular glands. It also discusses the different muscles' functions and their innervation, as well as the histological features of the tongue, such as the lingual papillae and taste buds.

Instructor

Romain Zufferey

Official source

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Tongue

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 the enabling of speech in humans and vocalization in other animals.

Salivary gland

The salivary glands in many vertebrates including mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual), as well as hundreds of minor salivary glands. Salivary glands can be classified as serous, mucous, or seromucous (mixed). In serous secretions, the main type of protein secreted is alpha-amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into maltose and glucose, whereas in mucous secretions, the main protein secreted is mucin, which acts as a lubricant.

Lingual papillae

Lingual papillae (: papilla) are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue that give it its characteristic rough texture. The four types of papillae on the human tongue have different structures and are accordingly classified as circumvallate (or vallate), fungiform, filiform, and foliate. All except the filiform papillae are associated with taste buds. In living subjects, lingual papillae are more readily seen when the tongue is dry. There are four types of papillae present on the tongue: Filiform papillae are the most numerous of the lingual papillae.

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