Tongue is one of the most powerful muscle of the body and the movements of tongue are very important in speaking and swallowing or deglutation of food and the movements of tongue are controlled by Intrinsic and Extrinsic muscles.
Action of Intrinsic muscles on movements of tongue:
Superior Logitudnal muscle:
- Action: Shortens the tongue and makes dorsum of the tongue concave
Inferior Longitudnal muscle:
- Action: Shortens the tongue and makes the dorsum of the tongue convex
Verticalis muscle:
- Action: Broadens the tongue and Flattens the Tongue
Transverse muscle:
- Action: Narrows the tongue and Elongates the constricted tongue
Action of Extrinsic muscles on movements of tongue:
Genioglossus muscle:
- Acion: Upper fibers retract the lip, Middle fibers depress the tongue and the lower fibers protrude the tongue
It forms the main bulk o the tongue and it is called the safety muscle of tongue
Hyoglossus muscle:
- Action: Depress the tongue and makes, Dorsum of the tongue is made convex, Hyoglossus muscle also acts by retracting and protruding the tongue.
Palatoglossus muscles:
- Action: It pulls the root or posterior base of the tongue upwards, and thus approximating the palatoglossal arches closing the oropharyngeal isthmus helping in swallowing or deglutation.
Styloglossus muscle
- Action: It also helps in swallowing by pulling the upwards and backwards.
Nerve supply to Extrinsic and Intrinsic muscles of tongue:
- Hypoglossal nerve supplies: Genioglossus, Hyoglossus, Stylogossus, Superior longitudnal, Inferior longitudnal muscle, Verticalis, Transverse
- Cranial part of the Accessory nerve through pharyngeal plexus supplies the Palatoglossus muscle.
thanks!! helpful info
Very helpful….?,,,?what medication.can i use too activate all of the above..i.e.1-5 related problems.. .the Doctors here are a waste of time and money..I have a problem with all of the above related..1-5..?.One doc.had prescribe.Augmentin..did nottin. One prescribe Avamys.,Mwtal OC-20…made me felt worse. After.that.nottin.more.just use me a guinea pig..for other Docs.too look down my throat. Note..I had done .Mri.Ctscan.Barium meal .blood .cancer. diab..hypertention…e.t.c all neg….But still can’t speak..eat..swallow..hear…see. facial…properly. Can u’ll say the magic words. It’s two years since now….thank
What exactly is the problem which you are being treated for? How did it start?
I was in a car accident and suffered a concussion. (I’m generally fine overall.) However, I had pretty significant speech issues initially (word retrieval/stuttering, etc.). I’m much improved (4 months later) — however I still stutter some every day – AND my tongue rests further forward than previously – all the time. I now have the impressions of my lower front teeth on my tongue all the time. Could this be due to damage of my palatoglossus muscle? I’m hoping it improves over time — but my dentist said that the pressure has pushed my teeth out – slightly but noticeably to him (and me). I’ve gone to several docs (ENT/Dentist/oral surgeon), but there’s no certain reason for why this has happened (other than due to the accident/concussion – but what happened?). Thoughts? Ideas? ….and what does it mean above for the description of the palatoglossus muscle that it “pulls the tongue back to make a groove”. Thank you! Mary
* sorry the last sentence above referred to a different article I read.
Generally I’m wondering if I might have damage to the palatoglossus or styloglossus muscles – and if it might improve over time or if treatment is needed. Thank you!
Mary
Dear Varun,
Thank you for this article. I really like the graphic that you used and wondered where you found it? I would like to use it for a publication and haven’t found one that I like better. I am up against a bit of a time crunch so I hope you are able to send this information yet this week. Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays!
I’m have this same issue with my tongue, it is newly constantly pressing forward to the point of mild discomfort, and has caused my anterior lower teeth to lean outward and splay. Did you find any relief? I have reached your same conclusion, that it is weakness or failure of my styloglossus and/or palatoglossus.