Role of Tongue
Would you ever like to have a tasteless food in your meal? How would you feel if you find it difficult to feel the taste of your favorite food like jalebi, samosas, burger, and pizza and so on? Surely, you will choose to stay without food. So, who brings the taste to your food when they are eaten? Which organ of your body takes effort to give taste to your deliciously cooked food? Yes, you are absolutely right; it's the tongue that helps in understanding the taste of any kind of food. The tongue helps in distinguishing the taste and nature of food that we take. However, besides the taste, it also plays a vital role in articulating words. Our speech is incomplete without the use of tongue. Hence, when someone asks you the use of tongue, do not just reply taste but add one more function as speech.
Anatomy of tongue
You can move your tongue in multiple directions. It is possible due to the presence of group of muscles which run in different directions. Underneath your tongue is a thin, soft and smooth skin called mucous membrane. Just have a look at your friend's tongue and you will see a lot of blood vessels and the mucous membrane. The tongue's muscle requires a lot of blood as they work throughout the day.
Tonsils are present at the back of your mouth. There are two types of tonsils, lingual and palatine tonsil. Lingual tonsil is present at the back of your tongue. The two tonsils called palatine tonsils are present near the beginning of the throat, each at one side. Tonsils help in catching and destroying the germs which try to enter our body. However, when there is more number of germs, the tonsils get swollen up. That is how we get tonsillitis.
The tongue is fastened to the mandible (jaw bone) and to the front of the throat. Pharynx is present just behind the tonsils. It can be seen when you look past the tonsils.
Working of Tongue
Tongue is especially engaged in the work of tasting. However, it contributes in performing various other activities, too. It co-operates with cheeks and teeth for moving the food around the mouth, when you eat or swallow. Tongue also helps in digesting the food and cleaning your mouth and teeth, once you finish eating. The tongue muscles also push saliva and small portions of food into the oesophagus. Tongue and nose work in combination for smelling and tasting the food that you take inside.
There are hundreds of small bumps called papillae on the top of your tongue. Some of these papillae are like short stiff threads that are rough in nature. They have number of nerve endings that are sensitive to touch. Their rough nature helps in licking the smooth foods such as ice-cream. Inside the papillae, there are lots of taste buds which help in differentiating tastes. Different region of tongue are specialized in giving or evaluating different tastes, such as:
Would you ever like to have a tasteless food in your meal? How would you feel if you find it difficult to feel the taste of your favorite food like jalebi, samosas, burger, and pizza and so on? Surely, you will choose to stay without food. So, who brings the taste to your food when they are eaten? Which organ of your body takes effort to give taste to your deliciously cooked food? Yes, you are absolutely right; it's the tongue that helps in understanding the taste of any kind of food. The tongue helps in distinguishing the taste and nature of food that we take. However, besides the taste, it also plays a vital role in articulating words. Our speech is incomplete without the use of tongue. Hence, when someone asks you the use of tongue, do not just reply taste but add one more function as speech.
Anatomy of tongue
You can move your tongue in multiple directions. It is possible due to the presence of group of muscles which run in different directions. Underneath your tongue is a thin, soft and smooth skin called mucous membrane. Just have a look at your friend's tongue and you will see a lot of blood vessels and the mucous membrane. The tongue's muscle requires a lot of blood as they work throughout the day.
Tonsils are present at the back of your mouth. There are two types of tonsils, lingual and palatine tonsil. Lingual tonsil is present at the back of your tongue. The two tonsils called palatine tonsils are present near the beginning of the throat, each at one side. Tonsils help in catching and destroying the germs which try to enter our body. However, when there is more number of germs, the tonsils get swollen up. That is how we get tonsillitis.
The tongue is fastened to the mandible (jaw bone) and to the front of the throat. Pharynx is present just behind the tonsils. It can be seen when you look past the tonsils.
Working of Tongue
Tongue is especially engaged in the work of tasting. However, it contributes in performing various other activities, too. It co-operates with cheeks and teeth for moving the food around the mouth, when you eat or swallow. Tongue also helps in digesting the food and cleaning your mouth and teeth, once you finish eating. The tongue muscles also push saliva and small portions of food into the oesophagus. Tongue and nose work in combination for smelling and tasting the food that you take inside.
There are hundreds of small bumps called papillae on the top of your tongue. Some of these papillae are like short stiff threads that are rough in nature. They have number of nerve endings that are sensitive to touch. Their rough nature helps in licking the smooth foods such as ice-cream. Inside the papillae, there are lots of taste buds which help in differentiating tastes. Different region of tongue are specialized in giving or evaluating different tastes, such as:
- Front part of the tongue- senses salty or sweet tastes.
- Sides of the tongue- senses sour tastes.
- Back of the tongue- senses bitter tastes.
Besides tasting, tongue works with lips, teeth and palate to make different sounds while talking or singing. Babies learn the feel of various objects by putting them inside the mouth and feeling them with the tongue. This is the only reason why you will find that small children always try to put the things inside their mouth.
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