What Are The Parts Of The Human Tongue And Its Functions?

There are five parts of the tongue and their names and functions are as follows:

•   Papillae

The Papillae is situated on the upper side of the tongue and marked by its granular projection. There are four types of papillae on the tongue: Filiform, fungiform, foliate, and vallate. The papillae are where the taste buds are. They help us identify different tastes of food. The food comes in contact with the taste buds when the saliva breaks it down allowing the microvilli to carry a message to the brain regarding the taste.

• Tonsils

The tonsils filter germs. There are two types of tonsils: Lingual and palatine. Both help with filtering germs.

• Adenoids

Adenoids help fight infection. These can swell up when a person is sick making it hard to breathe, but they also help to fight the disease.

• Frenulum linguae

The Frenulum linguae secure the tongue in place. It is the underside of the tongue that connects the tongue to the bottom part of the jaw. It is a thin strip of skin and muscle.

• Sulcus terminalis

The sulcus terminalis is the median of the tongue. It is what divides the tongue into two halves. It is about 2.5 centimeters from the root. It runs laterally and forward on either side of the margin of the tongue.

The tongue is where we will find our taste buds and it helps us chew. The mechanism does need to be cleaned in order to keep the mouth and the teeth clean.

There can be build up on the tongue from saliva; which can cause bacteria such as gingivitis to run a mock in the mouth. Dentists have created a tongue scraper in order to help people keep their tongues clean and healthy.

Function of tongue