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Lingual papillae, particularly filiform papillae, are thought to increase the surface area of the tongue and to increase the area of contact and friction between the tongue and food. [2] This may increase the tongue's ability to manipulate a bolus of food, and also to position food between the teeth during mastication (chewing) and swallowing.
The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning the teeth. [2] A major function of the tongue is the enabling of 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.
Glossitis can mean soreness of the tongue, or more usually inflammation with depapillation of the dorsal surface of the tongue (loss of the lingual papillae), leaving a smooth and erythematous (reddened) surface, [2] [3] (sometimes specifically termed atrophic glossitis). In a wider sense, glossitis can mean inflammation of the tongue generally ...
The tongue is moved side to side and inspected; it should be pink, moist, smooth and glistening. Assessment of the ventral (bottom) surface of the tongue is done by having the patient touch the tip of their tongue against the roof of their mouth. If healthy, it should have prominent veins and be pink, smooth, moist, glistening and free of lesions.
[1]: 808 Cartilaginous (chondroid), [2] and glial choristomas may also very rarely occur on the tongue. [3] Lingual thyroid; Cleft tongue (bifid tongue) - completely cleft tongue is a rare condition caused by a failure of the lateral lingual swellings to merge. [4] More common is an incompletely cleft tongue, appearing as midline fissure.
The tongue is a fleshy and muscular sensory organ, and the first sensory information is received via the taste buds in the papillae on its surface. If the taste is agreeable, the tongue will go into action, manipulating the food in the mouth which stimulates the secretion of saliva from the salivary glands.
During the sixth week of gestation, the medial nasal processes approach each other to form a single globular process that in time gives rise to the nasal tip, columella, prolabium, frenulum of the upper lip, and the primary palate. [2] As the tongue continues to develop, frenulum cells undergo apoptosis, retracting away from the tip of the ...
A 1930s poster from the Work Projects Administration promoting oral hygiene. Tooth decay is the most common global disease. [14] Over 80% of cavities occur inside fissures in teeth where brushing cannot reach food left trapped after eating and saliva and fluoride have no access to neutralize acid and remineralize demineralized teeth, unlike easy-to-clean parts of the tooth, where fewer ...