tongue

the muscular and highly mobile organ attached to the floor of the MOUTH , the three main functions of which are manipulation of food during chewing prior to swallowing, taste and production of speech. The three areas of the tongue are the tip, body and root, and it is covered with a MUCOUS MEMBRANE that unites with that of the mouth and PHARYNX . The tongue is anchored at the root by various muscles that attach it to the back of the mouth. In addition, the undersurface of the tongue is attached in the midline to the floor of the mouth by a fold of mucous membrane, called the frenulum lingae. The tongue has a furred appearance because its surface is covered with minute projections called PAPILLAE , of which there are three different kinds: filiform, fungiform and circumvallate. There are grooves surrounding the papillae in which the TASTE BUDS occurs. The tongue is well supplied with BLOOD and receives branches from five different NERVES on each side.