Mouth

What is the mouth?

The mouth it is the organ that we use to eat, to speak and sing or play wind instruments, among many other activities. It is the first part of our digestive system, since its main function is to help us process food before it reaches our stomach.

The digestive system is the set of organs in our body that is responsible for processing what we eat and converting it into forms of energy that our cells can use to feed themselves.

The main structures or organs of this system are the mouth, tongue, esophagus, stomach, intestines, rectum, and anus. There are also other associated organs such as the pancreas, liver and urinary bladder, for example.

The mouth in the digestive system

The mouth is responsible for chewing food, producing small fractions that we can swallow, which are mixed with saliva that contains substances that help to begin with the digestion of food.

The language It is the muscle inside the mouth that helps us swallow, but at the same time fulfills important sensory functions, because thanks to special cells on its surface we can distinguish the flavors of food.

The esophagus it is the channel through which the food we chew and swallow travels to the stomach.

The stomach It is a kind of "bag" that receives the chewed food and continues to process it mechanically and chemically, that is, digesting it.

As the food we consume is digested in the stomach, which results travels through the intestine slim, where nutrient absorption occurs. At this point the other associated organs participate, such as the pancreas, for example, which produce substances to help the intestine to further break down the chemical components of food..

The liquid that remains after the absorption of the nutrients, mixed with those indigestible elements, continues its way towards the intestine thick, where the water is reabsorbed.

The right It is the last portion of the large intestine, it is where the feces are produced that will later be expelled by the year.

Characteristics of the mouth

Let's see the main characteristics of the mouth:

• The mouth is the organ of our body through which food enters the rest of the digestive system, but it is also one of the routes through which air can enter our lungs.
• This organ is actually a cavity inside our skull that has an oval shape and thanks to it we can also speak, sing and whistle, among other things..
• It has various structures that fulfill defined functions. The most prominent are, without a doubt, the teeth and the tongue, since they are the most obvious and those that occupy a large amount of the internal space of the mouth.
• This cavity is divided into two sections that are known as the vestibule and the oral cavity itself. The vestibule is the space between the cheeks and the teeth, while the oral cavity is mainly occupied by the tongue.
• The nasal and oral cavities are separated from each other by the palate, which generates two separate pathways for air and food to pass through, respectively..
• Both sections of the mouth are lined by a series of membranes called mucous membranes, in which there are many different glands, including the salivary glands, which perform important lubrication and hydration functions. Thus, it is important to say that the mouth is a cavity that always maintains a humid environment..

Parts of the mouth and their functions

The mouth is made up of different parts, let's see what they are:

The lips

We can say that the mouth begins with the lips, which are the entry site to this important cavity of our skull. The lips are made of skin, muscle, and mucous membranes.

The muscles of the lips allow us to open and close them, which is very important for eating, speaking, singing and even breathing. The lips are fundamental to elaborate the sounds of some letters, especially of the vowels and of the “b” and the “p”, for example.

The palate

The upper region of the inner part of our mouth is known as the palate. We say "palates" because it is considered that there are two: a white one near the throat and a harder one towards the front of the mouth..

The “hard” palate helps separate the nose from the mouth, while the “soft” palate prevents the food and beverages we consume from going into the airways instead of the esophagus and into the stomach..

Language

The tongue is a muscle that occupies most of the oral cavity and we can say that it is in the middle of the mouth. In addition to helping them detect flavors (thanks to the taste buds that are on its surface), the tongue helps us make some sounds when we speak.

Another important function of this muscle is to help "push" saliva out (to spit) or in (to swallow)..

The gums

The bone that forms our jaw, that is, the jaw, which is the structure that supports the teeth, is covered by a tissue that we know as the gum. Some of the functions of this tissue include the protection of the teeth

Teeth

The teeth are the hardest structures in our mouth and they are what help us to chew and grind the food we eat during the day. Through the teeth we can also pronounce some letters better and speak more clearly.

During our life, human beings have 2 sets of teeth: the so-called "milk teeth", which are 20 and accompany us during childhood and until the beginning of puberty, and the "permanent teeth", which are 32 and which are those we use during adolescence and adulthood, until death.

Not all our teeth are the same, as we have large, rough and flat ones that we use to chew food and grind it before swallowing; and others more sharp, which serve us to tear the food before chewing it.

References

1. Britannica Kids. (2020). Retrieved August 9, 2020, from kids.britannica.com
2. Dental One Associates. (2020). Retrieved September 8, 2020, from dentalone-ga.com
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020). Retrieved September 9, 2020, from britannica.com
4. Fox, S. I. (2002). Human physiology. McGraw-Hill.
5. Marieb, E. N., & Hoehn, K. (2007). Human anatomy & physiology. Pearson Education.