Hygiene Atlas

Atlas · Plate I · Head and Neck Anatomy · 09

Tongue and oral landmarks

The dorsum of the tongue carries four kinds of papillae: numerous filiform papillae with no taste buds, red-dot fungiform papillae with taste buds, foliate papillae on the back edges, and 8-12 circumvallate papillae in a V in front of the sulcus terminalis. Knowing normal variants such as Fordyce granules and the linea alba keeps you from charting them as lesions.

High-yield facts · 6

  1. The circumvallate papillae (8-12) form a V in front of the sulcus terminalis.S52
  2. Filiform papillae are the most numerous and have no taste buds; foliate papillae are on the posterolateral tongue.S52
  3. Fungiform papillae look like red dots on the dorsum and contain taste buds.S52
  4. The foramen cecum marks where the thyroid gland began to descend.S52
  5. Fordyce granules are ectopic sebaceous glands seen as yellow spots on the buccal mucosa; they are a normal variant.T5
  6. The linea alba is a white line on the buccal mucosa at the occlusal plane, caused by friction.T5

Facts are written in our own words; each tag links to its source. Values marked "sources vary" differ between references, so check the one your program uses.