TONGUE

TONGUE TWISTER

• You tongue is made of several muscle groups.
• Your tongue is very flexible also.
• You need your tongue to talk and make other noises.
• It moves food around in your mouth to chew food.

TONGUE HELD DOWN TIGHT

• Your tongue is held down by the frenumlem.
• Because of this, you can never swallow your tongue.

TASTY TIDBITS

• Your tongue is covered in s thin layer of bumps called papillae.
• They help grip your food and move it around while you chew.
• They also contain all your taste buds.
• When your born, you have 10,000 taste buds.
• As you age, you may only have 5,000 though.

TRAVELING TASTES

• Each taste bud has microscopic cells.
• Those cells are called microvilli.
• Each microvilli little hairs send messages to the brain.
• Your taste buds are less sensitive when they are cold.
• If you eat an ice cube, you wont be able to taste food as well.

FRIEND OF THE TONGUE

• Your nose also helps with taste.
• Saliva also helps.
• Saliva keeps your tongue wet.
• Your tongue can't taste anything if dry.
• It also moistens and breaks down food.

FIGHTING GERMS

• Your tongue has 2 tonsils on it.
• They are called the linguals.
• They, and adnoids, fight infections.
• You have tonsils in the back of your mouth.
• They are called palatines.

THE TONGUE IS A HARD WORKER

• Your tongue never gets to take a break.
• Even when your asleep it is at work.
• It helps push saliva down your throat.
• Your tongue is always busy: talking, swallowing,
• Germ-fighting, tasting, and moving food around.