Lingual Muscles: Their Location And Function Explained

where are the lingual muscles

The lingual muscles are found in the tongue, which is a muscular organ with some fatty and fibrous tissue. The tongue is divided into two halves by a connective septum, the lingual septum, and its muscles are also divided into two groups: the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The four intrinsic muscles are found within the tongue and alter its shape. They are the superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical muscles. The extrinsic muscles are outside the tongue but are functionally associated with it, helping it perform its functions. They are the genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and palatoglossus muscles. These muscles allow for the complex movements of the tongue, such as elongating, retracting, elevating, and lowering the tongue, and are essential for chewing, speech, and swallowing.

Characteristics Values
Number of groups 2
Number of muscles in each group 4
Muscle groups Intrinsic, Extrinsic
Muscle types Vertical, Transverse, Superior Longitudinal, Inferior Longitudinal
Muscle functions Altering the shape and position of the tongue
Innervation Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), Vagus nerve (CN X)
Blood supply Lingual artery, Dorsal lingual artery, Deep lingual artery
Veins Lingual vein, Internal jugular vein

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The tongue is a muscular organ

The tongue's muscles can be divided into two groups: the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The four intrinsic muscles are located within the tongue and alter its shape. They are the superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical muscles. These muscles work together to produce movements such as elongating and retracting the tongue, elevating and lowering its apex, and broadening and narrowing its surface.

The extrinsic muscles are outside the tongue but are functionally associated with it. They alter the tongue's position and include the genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and palatoglossus muscles. The genioglossus muscle, for example, contributes significantly to the shape of the tongue and plays a role in protruding it outside the mouth. The hyoglossus muscle, on the other hand, passes through the oropharyngeal triangle and inserts into the inferior/ventral parts of the lateral tongue.

The tongue receives its blood supply primarily from the lingual artery, a branch of the external carotid artery. The lingual veins drain into the internal jugular vein. The tongue is also innervated by several nerves, including the hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) and the vagus nerve (CN X). The hypoglossal nerve supplies motor innervation to all intrinsic and extrinsic muscles, except for the palatoglossus muscle, which is innervated by the vagus nerve.

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Intrinsic and extrinsic muscles

The tongue is a muscular organ situated in the oral cavity, and it is involved in sensation, taste, mastication (chewing), deglutition (swallowing), speech, and clearing the oral cavity. The tongue is separated medially into two halves by a connective septum, the lingual septum. The muscles that make up the tongue are paired, with each muscle from a pair being related to one half of the tongue.

There are two groups of muscles associated with the tongue. The first group comprises the muscles that make up the core of the tongue and are placed within it. These are called the intrinsic muscles. Their main function is altering the shape of the tongue. The intrinsic muscles include the superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical muscles.

The other group comprises the muscles that are outside the tongue but are functionally associated with it. They are called the extrinsic muscles, and their main function is altering the position of the tongue. They include the genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and palatoglossus muscles. The genioglossus is a fan-shaped muscle that originates from the superior mental spine on the posterior mandibular surface. The inferior group of fibers inserts into the body of the hyoid bone, while the remaining fibers extend superiorly next to the entire length of the dorsum of the tongue and blend with the intrinsic muscles. The hyoglossus is a quadrangular muscle that originates from the body and greater horn of the hyoid bone. It passes through the oropharyngeal triangle and inserts into the inferior/ventral parts of the lateral tongue, between the genioglossus and styloglossus.

All the muscles of the tongue are innervated by the hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), except for the palatoglossus muscle, which is supplied by the vagus nerve (CN X). The lingual nerve provides sensory innervation to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, while the glossopharyngeal nerve supplies the posterior one-third. The arterial supply to the tongue is mainly from the lingual artery, a branch of the external carotid artery.

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Innervation and vasculature

The tongue is an entirely muscular organ, with muscles that can be categorised as either intrinsic or extrinsic. The intrinsic muscles are located within the tongue and are responsible for altering its shape. The extrinsic muscles, on the other hand, are located outside the tongue and help to change its position.

Innervation

The intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue are innervated by the hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), except for the palatoglossus muscle, which is supplied by the vagus nerve (CN X). The lingual nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve (CN V3), provides sensory innervation to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. Taste in this region is facilitated by the chorda tympani nerve, a branch of the facial nerve (CN VII). The posterior one-third of the tongue receives sensory innervation from the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX).

Vasculature

The tongue receives its blood supply primarily from the lingual artery, a branch of the external carotid artery. The lingual artery gives rise to four arteries: the suprahyoid artery, which supplies the omohyoid, sternothyroid, and thyrohyoid muscles; the dorsal lingual artery, which supplies the posterior part of the tongue; the sublingual artery, which supplies the sublingual gland and the mylohyoid muscle; and the deep lingual artery, which supplies the apex of the tongue. Venous drainage is facilitated by the lingual vein, which empties into the internal jugular vein. The lymphatic vessels of the tongue are divided into marginal and central vessels. The marginal vessels drain the apex, marginal surface, and sublingual region of the tongue into the submental and submandibular nodes, while the central vessels are located at the tip of the tongue and drain into the jugulo-omohyoid or jugulodigastric nodes.

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The tongue's flexibility

The tongue is a muscular organ with some fatty and fibrous tissue distributed throughout its structure. It is separated medially into two halves by a connective septum, the lingual septum. The muscles that make up the tongue are paired, with each muscle from a pair relating to one half of the tongue.

There are two groups of muscles associated with the tongue. The first group comprises the muscles that make up the core of the tongue and are placed within it; these are called the intrinsic muscles. The superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, and vertical muscles make up this group. Their main function is to alter the shape of the tongue. For example, the vertical muscles facilitate the flattening and widening of the tongue, while the transverse muscles cause the tongue to narrow and elongate when contracted.

The second group comprises the muscles that are outside the tongue but are functionally associated with it and help it perform its functions; these are called the extrinsic muscles. The genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and palatoglossus muscles make up this group. Their main function is to alter the position of the tongue. For example, bilateral contraction of the genioglossus muscle depresses the central part of the tongue, creating a longitudinal furrow and protruding the tongue outside of the mouth.

The tongue has a significant degree of flexibility due to the combined effect of all the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles working together. Tongue stretching exercises can help increase the tongue's flexibility and range of motion. These exercises are commonly used by vocalists and voice actors to improve vocal control and warm up their voices. Tongue stretching can also be used to treat various physiological challenges in the mouth and jaw area, such as difficulty swallowing.

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The lingual nerve

The submandibular ganglion is suspended by two nerve filaments from the lingual nerve. The lingual nerve supplies general somatic afferent (i.e., general sensory) innervation to the mucous membrane of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue (i.e., body of the tongue), the floor of the oral cavity, and the mandibular/inferior lingual gingiva. The lingual nerve also conveys fibres of the chorda tympani (which are derived from the facial nerve), providing special sensation (taste) to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, as well as parasympathetic and sympathetic innervation.

Understanding the anatomy of the lingual nerve is crucial for performing safe surgical procedures in its area of distribution, especially when extracting impacted mandibular third molars, as lingual nerve injury is one of the most serious complications of this procedure. The most common cause of lingual nerve injuries is third molar (wisdom tooth) surgery. Less commonly, the lingual nerve can be injured by local anaesthetic dental injections (particularly inferior dental block injections) and sublingual or submandibular surgery. Any injury to sensory nerves can result in pain, altered sensation, and/or numbness, usually a combination of these symptoms. This can significantly impact a patient's quality of life, affecting their daily functioning and psychological health. Therefore, patients should be routinely warned about lingual nerve injuries before wisdom tooth and floor-of-mouth surgery.

Frequently asked questions

The lingual muscles are found in the tongue. The tongue is a muscular organ that is separated medially into two halves by the lingual septum. The muscles of the tongue can be divided by where they attach, either internal to the tongue or to external structures.

The two groups of lingual muscles are the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. The four intrinsic muscles alter the shape of the tongue and are not attached to bone. The four extrinsic muscles change the position of the tongue and are anchored to bone.

The lingual muscles include the superior longitudinal, inferior longitudinal, transverse, vertical, genioglossus, hyoglossus, styloglossus, and palatoglossus muscles.

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