Muscles of the Main Body of the Tongue

The Muscles of the Main Body of the Tongue

The right and left sides of the human tongue are made up of seven muscles each, four intrinsic muscles, those entirely located within the main body of the tongue, and three extrinsic muscles, those that originate outside of the tongue and insert into the main body of the tongue. In the middle of the tongue there is a piece of fascia, on which all seven intrinsic and extrinsic muscles originate or insert. The tongue has muscle fibers running through each of the sagittal, coronal, and transverse planes giving us the ability to change our tongues shape and position within our mouths to serve multiple purposes. The intrinsic muscles of the tongue are the Superior Longitudinalis, the Inferior Longitudinalis, the Transversus, and the Verticalis. These muscles are named for the orientation of their fibers, the Superior and Inferior Longitudinalis both run the length of the tongue in the transverse plane, across the coronal plane, and along the sagittal plane. The Superior Longitudinalis runs along the full length of the top and back of the tongue along the medial line, this muscle draws the tip of the tongue to the posterior. The Inferior Longitudinalis inserts posterior to the tip of the tongue and originates more laterally, aiding in retraction and depression. The Transversus originates on the media fascia and inserts on the lateral edges of the full length of the tongue with the fibers running across the sagittal plane and parallel to both the coronal and transverse planes. The Transversus draws the sides of the tongue medially. The Verticalis interdigitates with the Transversus at ninety-degree angles, running parallel to both the sagittal and coronal planes, and across the transverse plane, allowing the tongue to become narrower top to bottom in the coronal and sagittal planes. The extrinsic muscles, those that