tongue (redirected from indentation tongue margin)

tongue, muscular organ occupying the floor of the mouth in vertebrates. In some animals, such as lizards, anteaters, and frogs, it serves a food-gathering function. In humans, the tongue functions principally in chewing, swallowing, and speaking. The human tongue is covered by a mucous membrane containing small projections called papillae, which give it a rough surface. Tiny taste organs, or buds, are scattered over the entire surface of the papillae, with large numbers concentrated on the circumvallate papillae, toward the middle of the tongue. The appearance of the tongue is often an indication of body health; a pinkish-red color is normal. In impairment of the digestion and in certain feverish diseases, a yellowish coating forms. Local infection of the tongue is called thrush.

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tongue

Muscular organ on the floor of the mouth. It is important in motions of eating, drinking, and swallowing, and its complex movements shape the sounds of speech. Its top surface consists of thousands of raised projections (papillae). The receptors of taste (taste buds) are embedded in the papillae and are sensitive to four basic flavours: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. More specific flavours are influenced by the sense of smell. The tongue's appearance (e.g., coated or red) can give clues to disease elsewhere. Disorders of the tongue include cancer (often caused by smokeless tobacco), leukoplakia (white patches), fungal infection, and congenital disorders. Different animals use the tongue to serve varied functions; for example, frogs have an elongated tongue adapted to capturing prey, the snake's tongue collects and transfers odours to a specialized sensory structure to help locate prey, and cats use their tongues for grooming and cleaning.

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tongue

1. a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In man it plays an important part in the articulation of speech sounds

2. an analogous organ in invertebrates

3. a language, dialect, or idiom

4. See gift of tongues

5. a promontory or spit of land

6. Music the reed of an oboe or similar instrument

7. the clapper of a bell

8. a long and narrow projection on a machine or structural part that serves as a guide for assembly or as a securing device