Oral glands

All mammals are well supplied with oral glands. There are labial glands of the lips, buccal glands of the cheeks, lingual glands of the tongue, and palatine glands of the palate. Besides these, there are larger paired salivary glands. The parotid gland, near each ear, discharges into the vestibule. The submaxillary or submandibular gland lies along the posterior part of the lower jaw; its duct opens well forward under the tongue. The sublingual gland lies in the floor of the mouth. Saliva is a viscid fluid containing a mixture of all the oral secretions. It contains mucus, proteins, salts, and the enzymes ptyalin and maltase. Most of the ptyalin in human saliva is furnished by the parotid gland. The digestive action of saliva is limited to starchy food. Other uses of saliva include the moistening of food for easier manipulation by the tongue, the consequent facilitation of swallowing, and a lubrication by mucus that ensures a smoother passage of food down the esophagus to the stomach. Tonsils are spongy lymphoid tissues at the back of the throat, composed mainly of lymphocytic cells held together by fibrous connective tissue. There are three types of tonsils. The palatine tonsils, usually referred to as «the tonsils», are visible between the arches that extend from the uvula to the floor of the mouth. The pharyngeal tonsils, usually referred to as the adenoids, lie at the back of the throat. The lingual tonsils are on the upper surface of each side of the back of the tongue. The tonsils function to protect the pharynx and the remainder of the body from infectious organisms that become trapped in the mucous membrane lining the mouth, nose and throat. Chronic or acute inflammation of the tonsilses, called the tonsillitis.

The tongue, a muscular organ in the mouth, provides the sense of taste and assists in chewing, swallowing, and speaking. It is firmly anchored by connective tissues to the front and side walls of the pharynx, or throat, and to the hyoid bone in the neck.

The mammalian tongue is divided into two parts by a V-shaped groove, the terminal sulcus. At the apex of this V is a small blind pit, the foramen cecum. The larger part, or body, of the tongue belongs to the floor of the mouth, whereas the root forms the front wall of the oral pharynx. The body of the tongue is separated from the teeth and gums by a deep groove. A midline fold, the frenu-lum, is near he tip on the undersurface. The upper surface of the body, called the dorsum, has a velvety appearance because of filiform papillae. Distributed among these are occasional larger, rounded fungiform papillae and some large conical papillae. Immediately in front of the groove separating the body of the tongue from the root is a series of still larger vallate papillae arranged in a V-shaped row. The apex of the V points down the throat. Posteriorly along each side of the body of the tongue and near the root, is a series of parallel folds constituting the foliate papillae. The surface of the root of the tongue, which belongs to the pharynx, has no papillae but bears nodules containing lymphoid tissue.