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The tongue is a muscular organ located in the mouth. It is comprised of eight muscles, which intertwine to create a flexible matrix. Unlike other muscles in the body, the tongue does not have a supporting bone. The intrinsic muscles of the tongue are responsible for changing its shape, while the extrinsic muscles are responsible for moving it in different directions. The tongue is essential for chewing, swallowing, speech, and producing saliva.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of muscles | 8 |
| Muscle type | Intrinsic and extrinsic |
| Muscle names | Genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, palatoglossus, superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, vertical, transverse |
| Muscle functions | Protrusion, retraction, side-to-side movement, depression, elevation, shortening, curling, flattening, lengthening, narrowing |
| Innervation | Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), vagus nerve (CN X), superior laryngeal nerve |
| Blood supply | Lingual artery, external carotid artery, tonsillar branch of the facial artery, ascending pharyngeal artery |
| Venous drainage | Lingual vein, internal jugular vein |
| Lymphatic drainage | Marginal and central lymphatic vessels |
| Average length | 10 cm |
| Average weight (adult male) | 99g |
| Average weight (adult female) | 79g |
| Number of taste buds | 2,000–10,000 |
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What You'll Learn
The tongue is made up of eight muscles
The tongue is a muscular organ located in the mouth, and it is made up of eight muscles. These muscles help the tongue move in different directions and change its shape. Unlike other muscles in the body, the tongue does not have a supporting bone structure. Instead, the muscles intertwine to form a flexible matrix, allowing for a wide range of motion and shape.
The eight muscles of the tongue are classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic. There are four intrinsic muscles that alter the tongue's shape and are not attached to any bone. These muscles include the superior longitudinal muscle, the inferior longitudinal muscle, the vertical muscle, and the transverse muscle. The inferior longitudinal muscle lines the sides of the tongue and is responsible for shortening and curling it downward. The vertical muscle, located in the middle of the tongue, joins the superior and inferior longitudinal muscles, and it functions to flatten the tongue. The transverse muscle, on the other hand, divides the tongue in the middle and is attached to the mucous membranes along the sides. It helps lengthen and narrow the tongue.
The other four muscles are extrinsic muscles, which are responsible for changing the position of the tongue and are anchored to bones in the head and neck. These muscles include the genioglossus, the hyoglossus (sometimes including the chondroglossus), the styloglossus, and the palatoglossus. The genioglossus arises from the mandible and protrudes the tongue forward. It is known as the tongue's "safety muscle" as it is the only muscle that propels the tongue forward. The hyoglossus, on the other hand, arises from the hyoid bone and is responsible for retracting and depressing the tongue. The styloglossus originates from the styloid process of the temporal bone and elevates the tongue, creating a trough for swallowing. Lastly, the palatoglossus arises from the palatine aponeurosis and depresses the soft palate, moving the palatoglossal fold towards the midline and elevating the back of the tongue during swallowing.
The tongue is an essential organ for various functions, including digestion, taste perception, speech, and breathing. It moves food around in the mouth, mixes it with saliva, and initiates the swallowing reflex. The tongue also helps produce speech by manipulating its shape and position against the teeth and palate. Additionally, the tongue is covered with papillae (small bumps) and taste buds, allowing us to taste different flavours.
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It is not the strongest muscle in the body
The tongue is a muscle, but it is not the strongest muscle in the body. The tongue is made up of eight muscles, four intrinsic muscles that change the shape of the tongue, and four extrinsic muscles that change the position of the tongue. The tongue's flexibility and stamina are due to its structure and the way it is built—with similar bits of muscle that can each perform the same task.
The strongest muscle in the body depends on how muscular strength is defined. If strength is defined as the ability to exert the most pressure, the strongest muscle in the human body is the masseter muscle, which is the primary chewing muscle. The jaw muscle can apply as much as 200 pounds of force on the molars when biting and chewing.
If strength is defined as the muscle that does the most work, the heart is the strongest muscle. The heart pumps out 2 ounces of blood with every heartbeat, which amounts to at least 2,500 gallons of blood daily. It works continuously over a person's entire lifetime without ever stopping.
The largest muscle in the human body is the gluteus maximus, which is also a contender for the strongest muscle in the body. The gluteus maximus is large and powerful as it has the job of keeping the body in an erect posture.
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Its functions include speaking, eating, swallowing, and breathing
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth that is essential for several functions, including speaking, eating, swallowing, and breathing. It is composed of eight muscles, four of which are intrinsic and responsible for altering the shape of the tongue. The other four are extrinsic and function to change the tongue's position, allowing for movements like protrusion, retraction, and side-to-side motions.
The tongue plays a crucial role in speech production by manipulating its shape and position within the mouth against the teeth and palate. This coordination with the teeth and palate helps to produce various sounds, such as the consonants "t," "d," "l," and the rolling "r." The tongue is also involved in the oral phase of swallowing. It elevates and sweeps posteriorly, propelling food past the anterior tonsillar pillar and triggering the swallowing reflex. Additionally, the tongue aids in chewing by moving food around the mouth with the help of the buccinator muscle and mixing it with saliva.
The tongue's flexibility is vital for speaking, allowing the production of more than 90 words per minute using over 20 different movements. It is also essential for pronouncing certain sounds clearly, such as the letter "k," where the tongue adopts a narrower shape at the back, and the sound "s," which is produced by moving the tip of the tongue backward.
Furthermore, the tongue assists in breathing by keeping the airway open. It is a sensory organ that aids in tasting and is highly sensitive to touch. This sensitivity is protective, as it allows small objects, such as grit or bone fragments, to feel more substantial than they are, preventing choking.
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The tongue's blood supply comes from the lingual artery
The tongue is a muscular organ, formed by a complex arrangement of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The intrinsic muscles change the shape of the tongue, while the extrinsic muscles move it in different directions. The tongue is involved in digestion, taste perception, and speech, and also plays a role in breathing.
The tongue has a rich blood supply, predominantly from the lingual artery, which branches off the external carotid artery in the neck. The lingual artery supplies blood to the tongue, as well as the floor of the mouth. It has four branches: the suprahyoid artery, the dorsal lingual artery, the sublingual artery, and the deep lingual artery.
The suprahyoid artery is the first branch of the lingual artery, which courses alongside the U-shaped hyoid bone in the neck, supplying blood to the muscles that support this bone. The dorsal lingual artery is located at the back of the tongue and supplies blood to the posterior portion of the tongue, the soft palate, and the epiglottis.
The sublingual artery passes forward through the tongue, supplying blood to the sublingual gland, a major salivary gland in the floor of the mouth, as well as the oral mucosa, gums, and the mylohyoid muscle. The deep lingual artery, or ranine artery, is the terminal branch of the lingual artery, located under the tongue and supplying blood to the body and tip of the tongue.
The lingual artery is essential for maintaining the health and function of the tongue and the surrounding structures in the mouth.
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Tongue movement issues are often caused by nerve damage
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat, a flexible matrix formed by the intertwining of eight muscles. Four of these muscles are intrinsic, meaning they change the tongue's shape, and the other four are extrinsic, meaning they change the tongue's position. The intrinsic muscles are not attached to any bone, while the extrinsic muscles are anchored to bone. The tongue is involved in several essential functions, including digestion, taste perception, speech, and breathing.
Damage to the hypoglossal nerve can cause the tongue to weaken and eventually waste away (atrophy) on the affected side, leading to paralysis. Consequently, individuals may experience challenges with swallowing, chewing, and speaking. Hypoglossal nerve damage can arise from various conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), which causes subtle twitching movements (fasciculations) on the tongue's surface.
To diagnose hypoglossal nerve damage, healthcare providers may visually inspect the tongue and ask the patient to protrude it or push it against their cheek to assess muscle function. Additionally, they may recommend magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to check for signs of a stroke or the presence of a tumor. Treatment options depend on the underlying cause and may include therapy to improve speech and swallowing functions.
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Frequently asked questions
The tongue is a muscular organ located in the mouth. It is comprised of eight muscles, four intrinsic and four extrinsic. The intrinsic muscles change the shape of the tongue, and the extrinsic muscles move the tongue in different directions.
The tongue is essential for chewing, swallowing, speech, and making saliva. It also helps to keep the airway open so that we can breathe properly.
The four intrinsic muscles of the tongue are the superior longitudinal muscle, the inferior longitudinal muscle, the vertical muscle, and the transverse muscle. The four extrinsic muscles are the genioglossus, the hyoglossus, the styloglossus, and the palatoglossus.
The tongue is covered with papillae (small bumps) and thousands of taste buds. The taste buds allow us to recognize different tastes, such as sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami.
