13 Tongue Facts: Interesting Things For You To Learn About It

There are many tongue facts that need to be known as they're as important as facts about other parts of the human body.

The tongue is an important part of the body, like any other body part. It helps an individual taste the food we eat, as well as assists with swallowing it.

The tongue is a muscle. The exterior, which is the outer or tip part of the muscles, is very flexible and can move around easily. The saliva helps to soften the food and enables you to eat and taste your food. The back part of the tongue enables you to swallow the food into the esophagus through the throat until your stomach is full. Our tongue has papillae which are known to have taste buds. Lingual tonsils help fight germs.

Tongue Structure And Development

The tongue is an organ that likes to be taken care of and assists with speech production.

The tongue also has a few more things attached to it, like salivary glands and muscles, so taking proper care of this body part is essential.

In case you do not know, the tongue is divided into two main parts: the root and the body.

The root of it is located in the mouth, while the body is much more visible.

The tongue is a muscular organ.

The taste buds and salivary glands are also attached to the body of the tongue, which makes up for half of its length.

On top of that, we can find countless taste buds all over the surface area of the tongue, as well as in the back of it and inside the throat.

The tongue comprises muscles that allow it to make different movements.

Tongue muscles make it easy for the tongue to move.

It can lift, drop, move in different directions, and curl up.

All of these movements are crucial for the process of speech production.

Function Of The Tongue

This body part is very useful for the process of speaking. If you've ever heard of 'speaking with your tongue', then knowing why this happens will come in handy.

The tongue has plenty of muscles that allow it to curl up and move in different directions, resulting in the many sounds that compose speech.

The taste buds are also incredibly important. The human tongue allows humans to taste sweet, bitter, and sour tastes.

Some exercises are recommended to help improve your sense of taste.

The tongue is involved in keeping our bodies healthy since it can absorb nutrients from food, thanks to its many surfaces covered with mucous membranes.

These membranes are the ones responsible for the overall health of the organ.

You've got to take good care of your tongue if you want it to remain healthy.

It's very easy for this body part to fall prey to harmful bacteria, so make sure that you brush your teeth regularly and cleanse your mouth and tongue with mouthwash at least twice a day.

It is also important to scrape your tongue.

Weird Facts About Tongues

There are many weird facts about the jaw muscles and taste buds in the human mouth. Let's get to know some of them!

The saliva in the mouth helps soften the food.

Epiglottis at the back of the tongue closes over the windpipe while you're eating.

The tip of the tongue to the oropharynx is evaluated to know the length of one's tongue.

The average tongue size for an adult male is 3.3 in (8.5 cm), whereas the average tongue size for an adult female is 3.1 in (7.9 cm).

An individual possesses 2,000–4,000 total taste buds.

Each week, the taste receptors in your taste buds help to determine the way you experience flavor.

On the basis of taste buds, there are two categories; supertaster and non-taster.

Supertasters can detect bitter flavors, whereas non-tasters are less sensitive to bitter flavors in food.

The bitter-tasting compound is called 6-n-propylthiouracil.

The taste buds are not visible to bare eyes.

Diseases Related To The Tongue

There are different diseases related to the human tongue, such as thrush, geographical tongue, hairy tongue, and many more. The healthy tongue is clear without a white layer and is pink in color.

Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches on the tip and base of the tongue as well as the inner cheeks of the mouth.

Thrush can be easily treated by using antifungal drugs mentioned in the prescription by your doctor.

If you suffer from a geographic tongue, the changing pattern can cause a burning sensation on the tongue.

Geographic tongue can be treated with antifungal drugs and pain relief drugs provided by a prescription from your doctor.

A hairy tongue is a condition in which the filaments of bacteria are on the surface of lingual papillae.

A hairy tongue affects people who use tobacco products regularly.

Treatment of the hairy tongue requires you to avoid smoking, maintain oral hygiene, and consume a high-fiber diet.

Bad breath after eating food is different from the bad breath that naturally comes without eating.

In your throat, the saliva is guided by the tongue.

The saliva helps to mask the flavor of the food, whether it be sweet, salty, or bitter.

Tongue muscles are eight in number.

FAQs

Q. What are some fun facts about the tongue?

A. On average, the taste bud is known to have a lifespan of 10-14 days.

Q. What can tongues do?

A. The tongue aids in the digestion of food and allows us to taste the various flavors.

Q. Are all tongues the same?

A. No, all tongues are not the same. Some are short, while others are long. Some people have a wide tongue, while others have a narrow tongue.

Q. What is a tongue tie?

A. Tongue tie is a problem that exists from the birth of the child and does not allow the full motion of the tongue. It can lead to feeding issues in some children.

Q. How to get rid of the Adderall tongue?

A. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco. Try to keep yourself hydrated with sips of water.

Q. What does it mean when your tongue is white?

A. It indicates bacteria or food that is trapped in the tongue and appears white in color. Hence, it is important to scrape your tongue every day.

Q. How do you heal a burned tongue?

A. Avoid drinking hot water and try to soothe the burned tongue with cold water.

Q. What color is a giraffe's tongue?

A. A giraffe tongue's black, blue or purple with pink color at the base.

Q. What is a geographic tongue?

Geographic tongue is a condition in which the patches on the surface of the tongue may change from time to time.

Q. What causes sores on the tongue?

A. Many things can cause sores on the tongue including injury and irritation.