We feel various type of test such as sweet, sour, spicy and bitter with the help of tongue. It is our organ of taste. The long and muscular organ situated in the buccal cavity is called tongue. It is s a muscular organ in the mouth. The tongue is covered with moist, pink tissue called mucosa and tiny bumps called papillae. There is a covering over the tongue containing the taste buds which is used receive various tastes. There are four types of taste buds: sour, sweet, bitter and salty.
The front, sides and back of the tong, contain special taste buds. We can feel sweet and salty tastes with the front part of the tongue. With the sides of the tongue we feel sour taste. The taste buds at the back are larger in size and these help us to feel bitter taste. Since there are no taste buds in the middle of the tongue we do not feel tastes in this region.
Functions of Tongue:
The following functions are performed by tongue
- tasting and swallowing food
- helping chewing of food by moving it nearer to teeth
- helping mixing food with saliva
- assisting in speaking
Taking care of the tongue
The tongue is an essential organ for digestion of food. To take care of our tongue we have to follow few steps. They include, brushing teeth and cleaning tongue regularly. A white or yellow coating may form on the tongue due to certain diseases. This may happen during fever. A good result can be obtained by rinsing with salt water. If the tongue of the children are not cleaned, curd like spots may be visible on them. It Occurs due to a fungal infection. Clean the tongue regularly. If you have a sore tongue or buccal cavity, consult a doctor immediately.
