Definition of Tongue

Tongue: The tongue is a strong muscle anchored to the floor of the mouth. It is covered by the lingual membrane which has special areas to detect tastes.

The tongue is composed of muscles attached to the lower jaw and to the hyoid bone (a small, U-shaped bone that lies deep in the muscles at the back of the tongue) above the larynx.

On the top surface of the tongue there are small nodules called papillae that give the tongue its rough texture. Between the papillae at the sides and base of the tongue, there are small bulb-like structures that are the taste buds. The muscle fibers of the tongue are heavily supplied with nerves.

Babies have more taste buds than adults and they have these almost everywhere in the mouth, including the cheeks.

The tongue aids in the formation of the sounds of speech and coordinates its movements to aid in swallowing.

The adjective for tongue is "lingual". So the papillae of the tongue are the lingual papillae.

Common Misspellings: tounge, toungue, tonge