Parts of Buccal Cavity
Buccal cavity mainly consists of the following parts:
Lips
Lips bound the buccal cavity from top and bottom. They are soft and movable. Lips are made up of orbicularis oris muscles. Lips have blood vessels under them and these blood vessels are covered with soft epithelial tissue which is transparent in nature and thus provides reddish or pink appearance to the lips.
Buccal Mucosa
The inner lining of the cheeks is called mucosa. It is responsible to impart round shape to the lips.
Tongue
Major part of the buccal cavity is occupied by the tongue. It has taste buds which help us to identify different tastes of the food. Tongue performs various functions in human body such as:
- It helps us to identify taste of the food.
- It is responsible to provide ability to speak in humans and animals.
- It helps to squeeze food while swallowing.
Teeth
Buccal cavity in humans consists of 32 teeth in an adult. Teeth are of various types such as incisors, canines, molars and premolars. Each type of teeth has different function to perform. But in general teeth help in breaking, chewing and tearing the food.
Salivary Glands
Salivary glands present in the buccal cavity secrete a liquid called saliva. This saliva has an enzyme called amylase and ptyalin which helps to break down the starch and sugars present in the food. Saliva also helps to moisturize the food which makes it easier to swallow the food. Saliva provides an antibacterial effect as germs or harmful bacteria present in the buccal cavity are destroyed by the saliva.
Functions of Buccal Cavity
Buccal cavity performs the following functions:
- It helps us to ingest food by swallowing.
- Saliva present in buccal cavity helps us to chew food properly and breakdown the sugars present in food.
- Tongue present in buccal cavity helps us to taste and speak.
- Teeth in the buccal cavity helps to chew, tear, and grind the food that we eat.
Mouth and Buccal Cavity
The mouth and buccal cavity are the first point where the digestion of food starts in animals and humans. The food is then passed through the buccal cavity to the esophagus and the remaining process of digestion takes place. The mouth or buccal cavity has many parts. Lips bound the buccal cavity. Various parts of the buccal cavity are cheeks, tongue, upper jaw, and lower jaw. The buccal cavity is also responsible for speech in animals. Thus we can see that the mouth or buccal cavity plays an important role in the human body. In this article, we shall discuss the mouth or buccal cavity in detail.
Table of Content
- Mouth
- What is Buccal Cavity?
- Parts of Buccal Cavity
- Difference Between Mouth and Buccal Cavity
- FAQs – Mouth and Buccal Cavity
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