Muscles of The Tongue

The tongue is one of the most versatile organs in the human body. Its extensive complement of muscles allows a range of complex movements for chewing, sucking and swallowing, as well as the vital function of making sounds to produce speech. Most of the tongue consists of intimately interlaced muscles, arranged as paired blocks so that the left and right sides have independent sets of muscles. The two halves are divided by a fibrous septum running down the middle, which is seen externally as a central groove, or medial furrow, running lengthwise along the tongue. Each block of muscles is formed from two arrays: a set of intrinsic muscles with the tongue for fine movements, and a set of extrinsic muscles connecting the tongue to the surrounding bones, which are used for large-scale movements. The narrow, pointed end (or tip) of the tongue is called the "apex."