This high-yield revision note on Tongue: Muscles, Nerve Supply & Taste Pathway - Taste Buds to Brain covers everything examiners typically test under Oral Anatomy & Histology — structured as quick-reference tables, clinical correlations, mnemonics and previous-year-style high-yield points. It's built for last-mile revision before NEET MDS, INI-CET MDS and INBDE, so you can scan it in minutes instead of re-reading a whole textbook chapter.
| Muscle | Type | Nerve Supply | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genioglossus | Extrinsic | Hypoglossal (XII) | Protrusion (fan-shaped, keeps airway open) |
| Hyoglossus | Extrinsic | XII | Depresses tongue |
| Styloglossus | Extrinsic | XII | Retraction & elevation |
| Palatoglossus | Extrinsic (only exception) | Vagus (X) via pharyngeal plexus, cranial root of XI | Elevates tongue root, closes oropharyngeal isthmus |
| Superior/Inferior longitudinal, transverse, vertical | Intrinsic | XII | Alter shape of tongue |
Taste pathway: Ant 2/3 tongue → chorda tympani (facial, VII) → nucleus of tractus solitarius. Post 1/3 → glossopharyngeal (IX) → same nucleus. Extreme posterior (epiglottis/valleculae) → vagus (X). All 3 converge on the solitary tract nucleus → thalamus (VPM) → gustatory cortex (parietal operculum/insula).
General sensation: Ant 2/3 → lingual nerve (V3). Post 1/3 → glossopharyngeal (IX).
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