part_of part of tongue muscle cell 2011-08-16T03:10:02Z Tongue muscle cells are responsible for essential functions like mastication, deglutition (swallowing), phonation (speech), and taste receptivity. They can be classified into two functional classes - extrinsic and intrinsic muscle cells. The extrinsic tongue muscle cells originate outside the tongue and are primarily involved in determining the position of the tongue within the mouth. Muscle groups such as the genioglossus, hyoglossus, and styloglossus are composed of these extrinsic muscle cells and grant the tongue its wide range of motion. The intrinsic tongue muscle cells, on the other hand, originate and function within the tongue itself, influencing the shape of the tongue during speech, eating, and swallowing. These cells can contract to alter the tongue's shape, making it long, short, curled, or flat, as needed. Together, these two types of muscle cells allow the tongue to perform its vital functions effectively. Moreover, they play a critical role in maintaining oral health by facilitating physical cleaning of the oral cavity and assisting in the mechanical breakdown of food. (This extended description was generated by ChatGPT and reviewed by the CellGuide team, who added references, and by the CL editors, who approved it for inclusion in CL. It may contain information that applies only to some subtypes and species, and so should not be considered definitional.) A skeletal muscle cell that is part of the tongue. skeletal muscle fiber tongue muscle