HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

             TONGUE::

The tongue is at the base of the mouth with its one third lying in front and one third in the posterior part of oral cavity it is a musculo membranous structure with taste buds and papillae on its surface and sensory organs the tongue is a mobile organ with a tip body and a base its movement is governed by a number of muscles through their nerve supply 

        Histologically it consists of (a) stratified and cornified epithelium (b) voluntary cross striated muscle fibres and (c) glands 

    Epithelium::

Epithelium of the tongue is modified into papillae and tastebuds papillae may be (1) Filiform (2) Fungiform and (3) circumvallate 

    filiform papillae are narrow and conical distributed all over the surface of the tongue the taste buds are absent in filiform papillae 

structure of the tongue 

fungiform papillae are narrow at the base and expanded on the surface a few taste buds are present in these papillae circumvallate are few in number they can be seen with the naked eye along V  at the base of the tongue taste buds are more on the sides of each papillae 

    muscle fibres in the tongue interlace each other and this is a unique feature thus in section fibres are seen cut in all directions fibro elastic tissue lies in between the muscles 

glands of the tongue may be mucous serous and or lymph glands