Mouth

The buccal cavity, or oral cavity, is another name for the mouth. The mouth is the upper end of the alimentary canal, which connects the pharynx with the oesophagus in the human digestive system. The palate in humans separates the mouth (or buccal cavity) from the nasal cavity. The teeth, tongue, and salivary glands are located in the buccal cavity, which is the principal organ of the digestive system.

Body

• An alimentary canal and related digestive glands comprise the human digestive system. The mouth, buccal cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus are all parts of the alimentary canal. 

• The salivary glands, liver (including gallbladder), and pancreas are examples of accessory digestive glands. Inside the mouth, the teeth masticate the food, while the tongue tastes it and manipulates it by combining it with saliva for proper mastication. 
• Saliva contains salivary amylase, a starch digesting enzyme that transforms starch to maltose (disaccharide). The food then goes through the pharynx and into the oesophagus as bolus, which is transported down into the stomach by peristalsis. 

The mouth, often known as the oral cavity, is divided into two sections: 

• The tongue is the major component of the oral cavity.
• The oral vestibule is a slit-like gap that exists between the teeth and the buccal cavity, as well as between the lips and the cheeks.

Parts of the Mouth

Lips

The orbicularis oris muscle complex forms the soft, muscular, and moveable tissues known as lips. The underlying blood vessels that are covered by the thin and transparent epithelial tissues are what give the lips their reddish-pink look.

Tongue

It’s a big, muscular organ that takes up the majority of the oral cavity and may be shaped and positioned in a variety of ways. Each taste bud, which is found in the mouth lining, has 50 to 100 taste receptor cells. It is the human body’s primary sensory organ, and it is responsible for:

Teeth

• Teeth are the strongest and most lasting materials in the human body. The incisors, canines, molars, and premolars are the four types of teeth that make up an adult’s mouth. Wisdom teeth, often known as the third molar, develop in late adolescence or early adulthood.
• Each tooth is made up of a crown, a neck, and a root. 
• The pulp cavity is filled with blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissues and is located in the centre of the tooth. Enamel surrounds the tooth, protecting it from scratches, cuts, and microorganisms in the mouth.

Notes

• Mucous membranes line the oral cavity and vestibule, containing several small glands that, in conjunction with the three pairs of salivary glands, bathe the mouth in fluid, keeping it moist and free of food and debris.
•  The gums (gingivae), which surround and support the teeth, and the surface of the tongue, where the membrane is coarser in texture and contains many small papillae that hold the taste buds, are both formed by specialised membranes. 
• The mouth’s moist environment and the enzymes in its secretions soften food, making swallowing easier and starting the digestive process.

Conclusion

In human anatomy, the mouth is the aperture through which food and air enter the body, known as the oral cavity or buccal cavity. The lips, cheeks, hard and soft palates, and glottis define the mouth’s limits, which open to the outside and empties into the neck in the back. The vestibule, which is the space between the cheeks and teeth, and the oral cavity itself are separated into two portions. The tongue, a big muscle firmly linked to the mouth floor by the frenulum linguae, fills most of the space in the latter half. In addition to their fundamental role in food intake and initial digestion, the mouth and its tissues are required for the production of speech in humans. The teeth rip and grind food into little pieces that can be digested; the tongue places and mixes food while also containing taste receptors; and the palate separates the mouth from the nasal cavity, allowing separate routes for air and food. By altering the movement of air through the mouth, all of these structures, together with the lips, have a role in the creation of speech sounds.