Tongue: Also known as ‘lips’. Located at the bottom of the mouth. The tongue of humans is an important internal organ for eating and speaking. The muscular organ of the male reproductive system in the mouth, strong and has a very sensitive feeling, conducive to tooth occlusion, swallowing, and letter pronunciation. It is closely related to the function of the heart. Observing the color, quality, appearance, and changes of the white coating of the tongue is one of the important contents of observation diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine.

Tongue Overview

The internal organs with the same name in human anatomy. Also known as ‘Linggen’ and ‘Heart orifice’. Located in the mouth. It needs to be in the heart, governing taste. It is closely related to swallowing and letter pronunciation. ‘Ling Shu:腰部脉度’: ‘The heart is floating according to the tongue, and when the heart is in harmony, the tongue can know the five flavors.’ ‘Ling Shu:腰部忧恚无言’: ‘The tongue is the key to sound.’ The root of the tongue is called the root of the tongue; the tip of the tongue is called the mouth; the sides of the tongue are called the lateral sides of the tongue; the tendons of the tongue are called the tongue system; the center of the tongue is called the middle of the tongue. Observing the color, quality, appearance, and changes of the white coating of the tongue is one of the important contents of observation diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine.

Tongue Diagnosis: a professional term in the field of diagnosis. One of the important contents of observation diagnosis. An important and universal indicator for the diagnosis of symptoms in traditional Chinese medicine. The tongue is the seedling of the world, the external manifestation of the spleen, and the coating is generated by the stomach Qi. The five internal organs and six bowels are connected with the tongue through the meridians. The hand Lesser Yin’s branch connects with the root of the tongue, the foot Lesser Yin’s meridian holds the root of the tongue, the foot Lesser Yin’s diversity tongue root, the foot Lesser Yang’s meridian connects with the root of the tongue, spreads to the base of the tongue. Therefore, the changes of the five internal organs and six bowels can be reflected in the tongue color and the white coating. Tongue diagnosis is important in diagnosing the appearance, color, lung nourishing and cough relieving of the tongue coating. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish the characteristics of symptoms, the depth of disease, the prosperity and decline of Qi and blood, the deficiency and excess of blood, and the虚实 of the five internal organs and six bowels. Cao Bingzhang in ‘Tongue Diagnosis Guide’: ‘The color of the tongue can distinguish the deficiency and excess of the five internal organs and six bowels, and the white coating of the tongue coating can observe the depth of the six excesses.’ When performing tongue diagnosis, it is necessary to combine the tongue color and white coating with dialectical reasoning. Generally, both reflect the lesions in a consistent manner, but there are also cases of inconsistency. This requires comprehensive analysis, multi-directional consideration, and reference to other diseases to make appropriate judgments.

Anatomical structure of the tongue

The tongue is an internal organ composed of muscles, located at the bottom of the mouth, with mucosa on the surface, covered with mucus, and the muscles arranged in three different directions, thus enabling flexible exercise.

The muscle male reproductive organ inside the mouth, covered by mucosa on the surface, and convex above is called the tongue dorsum. The tongue can be divided into mouth, tongue body, and mouth three parts. The surface mucosa of the mouth has many small nodular protrusions, called lingual tonsils. The surface mucosa of the tongue body has many unevenly sized protrusions, called lingual papillae. Among these lingual papillae, some squamous epithelial cells contain taste buds that can sense taste. Under normal circumstances, squamous epithelial cells have slight keratinization and shedding, keratinized squamous epithelial cells and shed squamous epithelial cells, saliva, food debris, and prominent white blood cell count, etc., form a thin and milky white tongue fur. Chinese medicine often observes the white tongue fur as a reference for diagnosis. The mucosa below the tongue is thin and smooth, with mucosal folds connecting to the oral floor, called the lingual frenulum. The tongue muscle is a muscle, which is very flexible in exercise, and participates in activities such as tooth biting, swallowing, and assisting speech.

Symptoms and clinical treatment of tongue and tongue-related diseases

Tongue Cancer: Tongue is commonly found in malignant tumors, so the method of tongue lymph node spread is particularly important. The malignant tumors behind the tongue can spread to bilateral deep cervical lymph nodes; while the malignant tumors on the lateral side of the tongue only transfer to the deep cervical lymph nodes in the later stage. Since these lymph nodes are close to the internal jugular vein, the metastatic tumors in the tongue can widely spread in the submental triangle and submentum triangle along the internal jugular vein in the neck. It is the malignant tumor of the tongue mucosa. It is common in the tongue body, and squamous cell carcinoma is more common; the one caused by the mouth is often related to poor squamous cell carcinoma precancerous lesions. It is common at the 1/3 edge of the tongue, and ulcerative and infiltrative types are more common. Infiltration around can cause tongue movement disorder, affecting speech, teeth biting, swallowing, and eating. There is a cancerous foul smell. Regional cancer metastasis is early and the metastasis rate is high. Biopsy can establish the diagnosis. Comprehensive treatment is very effective, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Surgical treatment includes partial tongue resection, hemilaryngeal resection, extensive tongue resection, total tongue resection, and collaborative resection of tongue, maxilla, and neck. Tissue damage can be repaired by pedicle skin flap surgery or free skin flap surgery.