What is the purpose of your tongue?

Besides being your taster, your tongue also helps you swallow and protects you from swallowing poison; you can thank your taste buds for that. Controlled by eight muscles and four nerves, your tongue helps move food and liquids down your esophagus. Of course, few people think of the tongue as an organ of beauty; normal tongues are moist, pink, and have bigger bumps toward the back. It's when you develop problems that things can get a little hairy. Black hairy tongue, for example, is simply when taste buds elongate and change color (due to smoking or antibiotics). Your tongue can also develop cysts, ulcers, herpes infections, and yeast infections (which are called thrush; milk of magnesia or nystatin can chase the yeast right out of your mouth).

Your tongue serves many purposes, from helping you chew and swallow to aiding in talking and singing. The tongue is made up of many groups of muscles that cause it to quickly move in multiple directions. The front of your tongue helps you lick a lollipop or an ice cream cone, or create certain sounds. The back of your tongue helps you swallow food and make other sounds. Your tongue is held in place by a thin layer of tissue, so it's not going to fall out when you cough; it won't go down your throat when you swallow. Also, your tongue is coated on top by more than 10,000 taste buds when you are young, which help distinguish between sweet, sour, salty, and other flavors.