The tongue is made of skeletal muscle and is responsible for manipulating food during chewing and swallowing. It contains four types of papillae that have taste buds and is innervated by the hypoglossal nerve which controls the extrinsic muscles. The tongue's blood supply comes from the lingual artery and its sensory innervation includes the lingual, facial, and glossopharyngeal nerves.

1. TONGUE
Dr Gangaprasad Waghmare
MS

2. Tongue
• derived from 1st-4th branchial arches
• manipulates food for chewing and swallowing
• contains no bony supports for the muscles
• the extrinsic muscles of the tongue anchor the tongue firmly
to surrounding bones and prevent the mythical possibility of
'swallowing' the tongue
• sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly
supplied with nerves and blood vessels to help it
move

3. Anatomy
• made mainly of skeletal muscle
• dorsum
• oral part (anterior two-thirds
of the tongue) that lies mostly
in the mouth
• pharyngeal part (posterior
third of the tongue), which
faces backward to the
oropharynx
• separated by a V-shaped
groove, which marks the
sulcus terminalis

4. Anatomy
Normal name Anatomical name Adjective
Tongue tip Apex Apical
Tongue blade Lamina Laminal
Tongue dorsum Dorsum Dorsal
Tongue root Radix Radical
Tongue body Corpus Corporeal

5. Muscle From Nerve Function
Genio-
glossus
mandibl
e
hypoglossal
nerve
protrudes the tongue as well as depressing its center.
Hyo-
glosus
hyoid
bone
hypoglossal
nerve
depresses the tongue.
Stylo-
glossus
styloid
process
hypoglossal
nerve
elevates and retracts the tongue.
Palato-
glossus
palatine
aponeur
osis
pharyngeal
branch of
vagus nerve
depresses the soft palate, moves the palatoglossal
fold towards the midline, and elevates the back of
the tongue.
Extrinsic Muscles of the Tongue

6. Intrinsic Muscles of the Tongue
• superior longitudinal muscle: assists in retraction of, or
deviates the tip of the tongue
• originates near the epiglottis, the hyoid bone, from the median
fibrous septum
• inferior longitudinal muscle: lines the sides of the tongue, and
is joined to the styloglossus muscle
• verticalis muscle: joins the superior and inferior longitudinal
muscles
• transversus muscle: divides the tongue at the middle

7. Pappilae
• The oral part of the tongue is covered with small
bumpy projections called papillae. There are four
types of papillae:
• filiform (thread-shape)
• fungiform (mushroom-shape)
• circumvallate (ringed-circle)
• foliate (leaf-shape)
• All papillae except the filiform have taste buds
on their surface

8. Blood Supply
• primarily from the lingual artery, a branch of the external
carotid artery.
• secondary blood supply to the tongue from the tonsillar
branch of the facial artery and the ascending pharyngeal
artery

9. Nerve Supply
• Motor innervation: hypoglossal nerve
• the palatoglossal muscle is innervated by the pharyngeal
branch of vagus nerve
• Sensory Innervation
• somatic sensations: lingual nerve, a major branch of the
mandibular nerve; also carries general sensation from areas
of the oral mucosa and gingiva of the lower teeth.
• taste sensation: facial nerve via the chorda tympani; also
carries parasympathetic fibers from the facial nerve to the
submandibular ganglion
• posterior one-third of the tounge: glossopharyngeal nerve

10. Function
• assists in forming the
sounds of speech
• it is the primary organ
of taste
• much of the surface of
the tongue is covered in
taste buds