Oral Cavity
The mouth, also called the oral cavity or buccal cavity, is the entranceway into the digestive system containing both primary and accessory organs of digestion.
The mouth is designed to support chewing, (mastication) and swallowing (deglutition), and speech (phonation).
Two rows of teeth are supported by facial bones of the skull, the maxilla above and the mandible below.
Teeth are surrounded by gingiva, or gums, part of the periodontium, support tissue of oral cavity protection.
In addition to the teeth, other structures that aid chewing are the lips, cheeks, tongue, hard palate, soft palate, and floor of the mouth.
Read more about this topic: Head And Neck Anatomy
Famous quotes containing the word oral:
“The Americans are violently oral.... That’s why in America the mother is all-important and the father has no position at all—isn’t respected in the least. Even the American passion for laxatives can be explained as an oral manifestation. They want to get rid of any unpleasantness taken in through the mouth.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)