MadSci Network: Anatomy
Query:

Re: What's the role of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue w

Date: Mon Aug 29 10:16:38 2005
Posted By: Thomas M. Greiner, Assistant Professor of Anatomy
Area of science: Anatomy
ID: 1117653070.An
Message:

What do the tongue muscles do?

The tongue is made up almost entirely of muscles. These muscles are conventionally grouped as the intrinsic (inside the tongue) and extrinsic (attaching the tongue to something else) muscle.

The extrinsic muscles are the ones you usually look for in dissection. There are four extrinsic muscles:

  1. Genioglossus: Goes from the inside of the chin to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue down and out.
  2. Hyoglossus: Goes from the hyoid bone to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue down and in.
  3. Styloglossus: Goes from the styloid process of the temporal bone to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue up and in.
  4. Palatoglossus: Goes from the soft palate to the tongue. This muscle moves the tongue up.
The intrinsic muscles are a little harder to identify in dissection, and don’t have fancy names like the extrinsic muscle. Generally these muscles are named for their locations and fiber directions. Thus there are the Superior Longitudinal, Inferior Longitudinal and Transverse intrinsic tongue muscles. These muscles are generally associated with changing the shape of the tongue. They tend to work in combinations, so it’s difficult to associate one muscle with one shape change. However, the longitudinal muscles tend to shorten the tongue, while the transverse muscle elongates and flattens it.

All of these muscles have important functions in eating and speaking. Changing the shape and position of the tongue moves food around the mouth so that it gets evenly chewed by the teeth and then moves the food to the back of the mouth as part of the first stages of swallowing. Changes to the shape and position of the tongue are also important in shaping the air flow through the mouth that gives precision to the sounds we make during speech.

Reference:

Standring, S (2005) Gray’s Anatomy. Elsevier: Edinburgh. pp. 584-587


Current Queue | Current Queue for Anatomy | Anatomy archives

Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Anatomy.



MadSci Home | Information | Search | Random Knowledge Generator | MadSci Archives | Mad Library | MAD Labs | MAD FAQs | Ask a ? | Join Us! | Help Support MadSci


MadSci Network, webadmin@madsci.org
© 1995-2005. All rights reserved.