Oral Mucosa

Any part of the human body that communicates with the external environment is covered by a moist lining called mucous membrane. In the oral cavity, this membrane is called oral mucosa. The oral mucosa performs different functions like protection of deeper tissues, sensation of different stimuli, and secretion of saliva. Mucosa of the dorsum of the tongue contains four distinct groups of papillae that is fungiform, filiform, circumvallate, and foliate papillae. Fungiform papillae are club-shaped/mushroom-shaped and present between the many distributed filiform papillae on the anterior tongue. Filiform papillae are hair-like projections forming a coating on anterior two thirds of the tongue. Circumvallate Papilla are one of the gustatory papillae of the tongue as they usually contain taste buds. Taste buds are located on the tongue and help in identification of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami taste sensations.