Tongue facts for kids

The tongue is the fleshy muscle inside the mouth. A tongue lets us taste because the top of the tongue is made mostly of taste buds. It also helps the process of mastication by mixing food with saliva. It is very flexible, so it also helps us eat and talk. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body.

Tongue rolling

A child rolling their tongue.

Some people can roll their tongue into a tube. The reason why some people are able to and some are not is because of genetic inheritance, meaning that it is based on whether their parents are able to do it. Many schools use tongue rolling as an example of a genetic trait.

People who can roll their tongue can sometimes make a high pitched sound by blowing through their rolled tongue.

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  A human tongue.

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  The blue tongue of an Okapi.

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  A dog's tongue.

Images for kids

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  Foramen cecum and terminal sulcus labelled above

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  Tonge surface features

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  Lateral view of the tongue, with extrinsic muscles highlighted

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  Coronal section of tongue, showing intrinsic muscles

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  Blood supplry of the tongue

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  Section through the human tongue; stained H&E

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  Giraffe's tongue

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  Spots on the tongue

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  Exclusive Lines on the tongue

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