CULTURAL QA 08-2023-19A Dear friends,
All the QA in this posting are related totongue. I hope the QA will be interesting Gopalakrishnan 19-8-23 Q1 Howmany parts of a tongue are there? A1 Sunil Shukla, Pharmacologist (2011–present)3y The human tongue is divided into two parts, an oral part atthe front and a pharyngeal part at the back. The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth. The tongueis covered with moist, pink tissue called mucosa. Tiny bumps called papillae to give the tongue its roughtexture. Thousands of tastebuds cover the surfaces of the papillae. They are the genioglossus, the hyoglossus (oftenincluding the chondroglossus) the styloglossus, and the palatoglossus. Their main functions arealtering the tongue's position allowing for protrusion, retraction, andside-to-side movement. The genioglossus arises from the mandible andprotrudes the tongue. Q2 Howdoes our tongue help us? A2 Dr. K. Badt, Professor (1999–present)1y What a good question! One thing the tongue does, that few knowabout, is that it helps us strand straight. The tongue is the muscle (8 muscles infact) that connects to and holds up themyofascial chain (The Great Front Line”) that goes from the tongue down to ourfeet. The tongue pressed on our palate lifts this myofascial chain. If the tongue malfunctions and drops to thelower teeth, for example, you will feel a slackening in your posture. You might also notice that when you trip and lose your balance, yourtongue immediately comes to the rescue and presses hard on the palate to helpyou keep your balance. The tongue on the palate significantly helpsbalance, according to studies. So the tongue’s secret functionsare fascinating: the tongue does much more than justswallow, taste and allow speech. It is one of the most versatile muscles(8 muscles) in the body. The tongue also, starting from the womb,presses on the palate to help the maxilla (the face) grow. Everyswallow pumps up the two halves of the maxilla until the maxilla is fullygrown. This is why in children, it is important that they have thehabit of keeping their tongue on the roof of their mouth 24/7. Q3 Whyare the edges and the underside of your tongue softer and smoother than the topsurface of your tongue? A3 Matt W, Former Research PhD Student at UNSW Bio analyticalCentre (2015–2019)2y The top surface seems rougher to give it more surface area so thatdissolved substances from food can be detected by taste receptors, whichare located on the bumps known as papillae. Note that not allpapillae contain tastebuds but many do. The bigger bumps in the anteriorportion of the tongue are referred to as fungiform papillae while much smallerones are called filiform papillae. Most of the tasting is through the fungiform papillae and thelarge set of vallate papillae at the back portion of the tongue. The underside of the tongue does not havetaste receptors, but does have touch receptors. Wedon’t really taste anything from the underside as most of the food we eatgenerally sits in the space above the tongue. The tastebudsare little pits around papillae where thechemical substance can enter. You may also notice differences in the skin on the palms andunderside/soles of your feet relative to the other side of the hands(dorsal side) and feet. The skin in these areas contains no hair and is referred to as glabrousskin which is usually thicker and contains additional sets of touch basedreceptors known as Meissner’s corpuscles that allow discriminative touchsensation. Thus we are very sensitive to identifying the surface and feel ofobjects on our palms relative to the dorsal (backside) of the hand… The palm is definitely not acommon place for a tattoo. Q4 Ifthe top surface and edges of your tongue are for tasting, what is the undersideof your tongue used for? A4 Ken Saladin, Freelance author of jest3y Why does it need any explanationat all? This seems like saying, If the top of my dining table is used forserving food and eating, what is the underside of it used for? We do, though, have multiple salivary glands that secrete mucus andenzymes into that space. The sublingual glands secrete into this space; thesubmandibular glands open by way of a pair of nozzles on the sides of medianfold of tissue, the lingual frenulum, on the underside of the tongue; andlingual glands embedded in the tongue tissue itself secrete onto its lowersurface. Q5 Howdo I get rid of bumps on the back of my tongue? A5 Craig Schlie, Diplomate, American Board of OralImplantology3y You don’t get rid of them. Youhave discovered normal anatomy about which you were previously unaware. These are the vallate papillae;they are arranged in a V-shape and contain taste buds. Q6 What do we call the line in the middle ofthe tongue? A6 Ken Saladin,Former professor of histology (microscopicanatomy) Upvoted by David Chan, MD from UCLA, Stanford Oncology Fellowship11mo “Medial sulcus” is the formal name for it. “Midline groove” is atranslation. Q7 Wouldit make sense for our tongue to be shorter so it wouldn't jam against the backof our teeth in our mouth? Why are our tongues long? A7 Ken Saladin, Former professor of histology (microscopicanatomy)3y The free end of it really isn’t very long,and its mobility is important in manipulation of food and drink as well as inspeech.It needs to be able to touch the the teeth and palate and sometimes the lipsduring speech. A tongue that was significantly shorter wouldprobably be manifested in a speech impediment. Here I’ve marled the full extentof the tongue with the red arrows and boxed in the free tip of it. You can seethat tip is very little of it, but that little bit is very crucial to eatingand speech. Q8 Whatis the tongue made of? A8 Shivli,Consultant7y It is made of the stuff, which more or less makes up other body parts. It has skin- mucosa to bespecific... a specialized mucosa to be more specific... It harbors taste budsand papillae!!! Then it has muscles. Different typesof it. Some attach it, some make it longer, others make it shorter, some moveit up, others move it down, take it out, pull it back... all different thingsyou can do with it, muscles do it. They do it on command of your nerves. Nerve supply of tongue isreally interesting and is quite related to how it evolved during embryonicgrowth. Then there are blood vessels, lymphatics, fibers... So, this is in nutshell, whattongue is made up of!!! Q9 Whatis the underlying cause for the white coating on my tongue even after regularscraping of the tongue twice a day? A9 Mohsin Parwez. DevOps Engineer (2018–present) 3y Coated tongue is caused by numerousreasons. Here are some common causes: Soft diet - being on a soft food diet (low roughage) preventstongue cleaning due to lack of abrasive cleaning action from harder, coarsetextured food. Dehydration - are you drinking enough water? Medication - many medicines can cause dryness of mouth ormay even cause excessive tongue coating Mouth breathing : common cause of white coated tonguedue to air causing dryness Fungal infection: oral thrush is known to cause white tongue Mechanical irritation due to sharp tooth edges or poorlyfitting dentures. Smoking or other tobacco useIf you are still concerned,please see your physician. Q10 Ifthe top surface of your tongue is light pink and bumpy, why is the underside ofyour tongue a darker pink or grayish pink and smoother? A10 Janet King,Lives in Reno, NV (1985–present)3y Parts of our bodies look differently becausethey grow for different purposes. For instance ~ There are notastebuds on the bottom of your tongue; therefore, out isn't bumpy. You'll getthe best explanation by Googling your question. A11 Hi Guys, Interested in discovering more about "BREATHINGTIPS"? To make you become very clear there's a simple website with ampleof connected posts in it. Go to google and type: "Enli8Breath" inwhich you can come to know several new ideas. Don't mistake me that I'madvertising this blog. The information in the site was very helpful for me so Ineed you also to make use of it. I don't want to take much of your time, let usget straight into your solution. Q11 Whatare the benefits of cleaning the tongue? A11 3 Key Benefits of Brushing Your Tongue Aside from the required toothbrushing, tongue scraping should also be part of your daily oral healthroutine. People whohave dental appointments know how essential it is to have their tongues scrapedon a regular basis, but often times, this important step is ignored.Most people believe that a strong mouthwash is enough. The Tongue Anatomy The tongue is the fleshy,muscular organ in your mouth that is used for tasting, chewing, and swallowingfood. It is made up of a complicated network of parts that works with the otherparts of the mouth to keep your oral system functioning well. The mostimportant feature of the tongue is the millions of filiform papillae whichcarry the tiny nerves of your taste buds. This is the reason why you enjoy allyour favorite food, and are able distinguish salty from sweet, and bland fromsavory. A sticky filmdevelops on your tongue while you sleep, which indicates what is really goingon inside your body. Depending on your type of diet, quality of oralhygiene, and pre-existing health conditions, the color of the film may varyfrom yellow to brown, and sometimes, even green. Cleaning the Tongue Not all of us know what tonguescraping is exactly and to some, it may seem like a silly, strange thing to do.However, tonguescraping has been part of ancient medicine and traditional Indian practices.It is believed to clean off the "negative elements" that coulddestroy and harm the physical body. Though proof was not available atthat time, the fact that it is still practiced and strongly encouraged bymodern dentistry says enough. If you can’t find a scraper, your toothbrush will do fine. Thetrick is to maneuver it in the right direction. Brush your tongue like you'resweeping away bad bacteria from it in a downward direction. The correct way of brushing yourtongue is to brush it all the way from top to bottom, on both the top andunderneath. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm, clean water and you should be goodto go! Benefits of Tongue Brushing Tongue brushing isn't justrecommended by dentists to add complication to your oral hygiene routine. Thisancient practice has been proven to provide you with many benefits. Here aresome reasons why you should include this in your daily cleaning habit: To make your mouth bacteria-free. Your tongue harbors the majorityof the bacteria found in your mouth and is basically the reason why your mouthsmells weird sometimes. Bad breath can have a huge impact in important aspectsof your life such as relationships, finding a potential partner, or improvingself-confidence. Your diet can also affect your mouth odor. So if you're a fanof liquors, dense protein foods, sugars, or acidic foods, you might want tobrush your tongue more often. Also, gargling mouthwash will help you wash awaybacteria found in the hard-to-reach areas of your tongue such as the backportion. You will enjoy your favorite food more. Digestion begins in the mouth,but what good is that step if you don't even know how your food tastes? If youare not removing toxic mucus from your tongue on a daily basis, your tastesbuds are bound to get blocked. This causes you to taste food differently.Brushing your tongue opens up the blocked areas of your tastes buds and willgive you greater enjoyment of your food. You want to improve dental health. Regular brushing of teeth andtongue is the foundation of excellent dental health. If your mouth isbacteria-free, you don't have to worry about tooth decay or tartar. Maintaininga good dental health routine is basically all you need to have perfectly healthyteeth and gums. Tongue brushing will help you eliminate majority of thebacteria that lurks in your mouth which could also affect your teeth in thelong run. Tongue scrapers or toothbrushes with tongue cleaners are your bestweapons when it comes to cleaning your tongue. Cleaning your tongue as often ascleaning your teeth will spare you from other dental diseases that keeps youfrom having a healthy and bacteria-free mouth. Q11 Doesa tongue grow back when cut? A11 Abbie Martin,5y For the record, folks… I went into seizure 2 years ago and was alone. I bit off 1/4 of my tongue.It was horrible! but mytongue did “regenerate” if that is the term for it. It looks like it’s whole now, but the feeling is unbelievable. Sometimes it hurts, the nerveswere severed so I can’t feel things sometimes (like hot pizza toppings andtherefore burn my tongue). Q12 Howlong can the tongue be? Can it still fit inside the mouth? A12 Imteaz A Khan,Medical Doctor, Consultant Physician 6y I am answering this question in regardto human tongue, as the largest tongue belongs to blue whale. On an average a human tongue is about 4 inches long and there can be aslight variation in the size of the tongue and it is within normal range. However, any abnormal increase in size of thetongue is known as Macroglossiaandit protrudes outside the oral cavity. Usually, under normal circumstances, thetip of the tongue lies against the posterior side of the upper incisor teeth,but in case of macroglossia it can't fit within the oral cavity. There is also an opposing condition where thesize of the tongue is too small and it is known as Microglossia or Hypoglossia.It's a very rare phenomenon. Q13 Is foliate papillae found in the humantongue? A13 Ken Saladin,Former professor of histology (microscopicanatomy)5y Yes, along the lateral margins ofthe tongues of children, adjacent to the molar tooth. They have taste buds in earlychildhood but generally lose them by age 2 or 3. Q14 Aretiny black dots on both sides of the tongue normal? A14 Asrar Rahman, Studied Medicine and Healthcare & Philosophyof Mind (Graduated 2002)4y Most commonly black spot is accumulationof black body pigment called melanin. It is normal.Some time bacterial or fungal infection can also lead to black spot. For that oral hygiene isrecommended. If recurrent or wide spread , antibiotic or antifungal can beadvised. My note- I searched for kari nakku, and I got the above answer. All the above QA are from Quora digest to me on 19-08- 2023. Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers .Compiled and posted byR. Gopala krishnan, on 19-08-2023 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/2089751256.925562.1692455446603%40mail.yahoo.com.
