DAT 118- Ch. 15 Dental Care Oral tissues & structures/ tongue vocab

Fauces

Passageway from oral cavity to pharynx.

Frenum

Raised folds of tissue that extend from the alveolar and the buccal and labial mucosa.

Gingiva

Mucosal tissue surrounding portions of the maxillary and mandibular teeth and bone.

Hard palate

Anterior portion of the palate which is formed by the processes of the maxilla.

Incisive papilla

A tissue projection that covers the incisive foramen on the anterior of the hard palate, just behind the maxillary central incisors.

Maxillary tuberosity

A bulge of bone posterior to the most posterior maxillary molar.

Maxillary/Mandibular tori

Normal bony enlargements that can occur either on the maxilla or mandible.

Mucosa

Mucous membrane lines the oral cavity. It can be highly keratinized (such as what covers the hard palate), lightly keratinized (such as what covers the floor of the mouth and the alveolar processes), or thinly keratinized (such as what covers the cheeks and inner surfaces of the lips).

Palatine rugae

Firm ridges of tissues on the hard palate.

Parotid papilla

Slight fold of tissue that covers the opening to the parotid gland on the buccal mucosa adjacent to maxillary first molars.

Pillars of Fauces

Two arches of muscle tissue that define the fauces.

Soft palate

Posterior portion of the palate. This is non-bony and is comprised of soft tissue.

Sublingual folds

Small folds of tissue in the floor of the mouth that cover the openings to the smaller ducts of the sublingual salivary gland.

Submandibular gland

Located near the inferior border of the mandible in the submandibular fossa.

Tonsils

Lymphoid tissue located in the oral pharynx.

Uvula

A non-bony, muscular projection that hangs from the midline at the posterior of the soft palate.

Vestibule

Space between the maxillary or mandibular teeth, gingiva, cheeks and lips.

Wharton’s duct

Salivary duct opening on either side of the lingual frenum on the ventral surface of the tongue.

Apex of the tongue

The tip of the tongue.

Circumvallate papillae

Two V-shaped rows of larger, flat, cup-shaped papillae on the posterior dorsum of the tongue. Each contains taste buds.

Dorsal surface

The top surface of the tongue.

Filiform papillae

Fine, small, cone-shaped papillae covering most of the dorsum of the tongue. They are responsible for giving the tongue its texture and for the sensation of touch.

Foliate papillae

Large, red and leaf-like papillae located on the posterior, lateral surfaces of the tongue. They contain some taste buds.

Fungiform papillae

Deep red in color and distributed over the dorsum of the tongue. Each mushroom-shaped papilla contains a taste bud.

Median sulcus

Slight depression in the middle of the dorsum of the tongue running from the tip to the base of the tongue.

Ventral surface

The underside of the tongue.