Tongue

body · senses · digestion

Taste bud treasure. Your tongue is covered with thousands of tiny bumps called papillae, and inside them hide your taste buds that detect sweet, salty, sour, salty, and bitter flavors.

Mighty muscle helper. Your tongue is made of muscle and helps push food around your mouth so you can chew it up and swallow it safely down to your stomach.

Always stays wet. Saliva keeps your tongue moist and helps you taste things better, plus it makes it easier to swallow and even helps clean your teeth.

Speech superpower. Without your tongue shaping the air coming from your lungs and moving against your teeth and lips, you wouldn't be able to speak or make most of the sounds in words.

Packed with nerves. Your tongue has tons of nerves and blood vessels running through it, which is why it's so sensitive and can feel hot, cold, smooth, and rough.