Oral cavity

Oral cavity - the oral cavity is where the teeth, tongue and salivary glands are involved in digestion. The tongue has a wide range of functions: swallowing, food control, taste perception, but also plays a role in sound production and breathing.

The taste buds are located in the mucous membrane lining the tongue. These provide the sense of taste through taste receptors.

Our teeth are responsible for chewing and chopping food, and for making sounds. Our teeth are now supported by our chopping utensils, which help us to chop up the food and put it in our mouths.

with Oral cavityIn our mouths, when we chew or chop food, it mixes with saliva and turns into a mass, a bite, ready to swallow. Our tongue pushes the morsels backwards and downwards into the pharynx, from where the food is passed into the oesophagus.

The swallowing process is a complex series of reflexes. As solid and liquid nutrients leave the body, the Oral cavityet, they pass through the garage. The pharynx (farinx) is the Oral cavitybehind and below.

When swallowing, a tiny lobe called the epiglottis closes, preventing food or fluid from entering the trachea or lungs.

And the back of the palate (soft palate) rises up and prevents food or liquid from entering the nasal cavity. Swallowing begins involuntarily and then becomes automatic.