Answer
The tongue is a bulky muscular organ in the oral cavity , The surface of this organ is covered with nonkeratinzed, stratified squamous epithelium . The bumps on the surface of the tongue are in fact lingual papillae -- vallate papillae, foliate papillate and fungiformm papillate.-- that bear some taste buds.
The body or the anterior two thirds of the tongue is considered to be in the oral cavity proper, but the posterior one third, the root of the tongue, lies in the oropharynx. The row of vallate papillae and the terminal sulcus mark the anatomic boundary between body and root. The tongue is very mobile , however, it is restrained to some extent, by the lingual frenulum which attaches it to the floor of the mouth.
Work Step by Step
The tongue is a very muscular organ and its intrinsic muscle comprise most of its mass. The names of these muscles are superior longitudinal, the inferior longitudinal, the transverse and the vertical muscle. These muscles are contained entirely within the tongue and are concerned chiefly with speech and deglutition (swallowing).
The extrinsic tongue originate outside the tongue but insert in the tongue. These muscles are genioglossus, the hyoglossus, the palatoglossus, and the styloglossus. These muscles are concerned chiefly with food manipulation during mastication and bolus formation.
Other anatomical features of the tongue are its lingual glands which secrete a portion of the saliva. Lingual tonsils located at the root of the tongue, contain both B and T lymphocytes which protect against infection.
