Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

ANATOMY OF ORAL REGION

INTRODUCTION
The oral region includes the oral cavity, teeth, gingivae, tongue, palate, and the region of the palatine tonsils. The
oral cavity is where food is ingested and prepared for digestion in the stomach and small intestine. Food is chewed
by the teeth, and saliva from the salivary glands facilitates the formation of a manageable food bolus (L. lump).
Deglutition (swallowing) is voluntarily initiated in the oral cavity.

ORAL CAVITY
The oral cavity (mouth) consists of two parts: the oral vestibule and the oral cavity proper. It is in the oral
cavity that food and drinks are tasted and where mastication and lingual manipulation of food occur.
Oral Vestibule
The slit-like space between the teeth and
gingivae (gums) and the lips and cheeks.
The vestibule communicates with the
exterior through the oral fissure
(opening).
Oral Cavity Proper
The space between the upper and the
lower dental arches or arcades
(maxillary and mandibular alveolar
arches and the teeth they bear). It is
limited laterally and anteriorly by the
dental arches. The roof of the oral cavity
is formed by the palate. Posteriorly, the
oral cavity communicates with the
oropharynx (oral part of the pharynx)

LIPS
The lips are mobile, musculofibrous folds surrounding the mouth, extending from the nasolabial sulci and nares
laterally and superiorly to the mentolabial sulcus inferiorly. They contain the Orbicularis Oris and Superior and
Inferior Labial muscles, vessels, and nerves. The lips are covered externally by skin and internally by mucous
membrane.
The lips function as the valves of the oral fissure, containing the sphincter (orbicularis oris) that controls entry and
exit from the mouth and upper alimentary and respiratory tracts. The lips are used for grasping food, sucking
liquids, keeping food out of the vestibule, forming speech, and osculation (kissing).
Transitional zone of the
Lips
Ranging from brown to red,
continues into the oral cavity
where it is continuous with
the mucous membrane.
Labial Frenula
Free-edged folds of mucous
membrane in the midline,
extending from the vestibular
gingiva to the mucosa of the
upper and lower lips; the one
extending to the upper lip is
larger

Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

Vascularization
The superior and inferior labial arteries, branches of the facial arteries, anastomose with each other in the lips to
form an arterial ring. Lymph from the upper lip and lateral parts of the lower lip passes primarily to the
Submandibular lymph nodes, whereas lymph from the medial part of the lower lip passes initially to the Submental
lymph nodes
Innervation
The upper lip is supplied by the superior labial branches of the infra-orbital nerves (of CN V2), and the lower lip is
supplied by the inferior labial branches of the mental nerves (of CN V3)

CHEEKS
The cheeks form the movable walls of the oral cavity. Anatomically, the external aspect of the cheeks constitutes
the Buccal region, bounded anteriorly by the Oral and Mental regions (lips and chin), superiorly by the Zygomatic
region, posteriorly by the Parotid region, and inferiorly by the inferior border of the Mandible.
The principal muscles of the cheeks are the Buccinators. Numerous small buccal glands lie between the mucous
membrane and the buccinators.. The cheeks are supplied by buccal branches of the Maxillary artery and
innervated by buccal branches of the Mandibular nerve

GINGIVAE
Composed of fibrous tissue covered with mucous membrane.
Gingiva Proper
Firmly attached to the alveolar
processes of the mandible and
maxilla and the necks of the teeth.
The gingiva proper adjacent to the
tongue is the Superior and Inferior
Lingual gingivae, and that adjacent
to the lips and cheeks is the
maxillary and mandibular labial
or buccal gingiva, respectively.
Alveolar Mucosa
Normally shiny red and nonkeratinizing. The nerves and vessels
supplying the gingiva, underlying
alveolar bone, and Periodontium
(which surrounds the root[s] of a
tooth, anchoring it to the tooth
socket)

TEETH
The teeth are set in the tooth sockets and are used in mastication and in assisting in articulation. A tooth is
identified and described on the basis of whether it is deciduous (primary) or permanent (secondary), the type of
tooth, and its proximity to the midline or front of the mouth (e.g., medial and lateral incisors; the 1st molar is
anterior to the 2nd).
Children have 20 deciduous teeth; adults normally have 32 permanent teeth. The types of teeth are identified by
their characteristics: incisors, thin cutting edges; canines, single prominent cones; premolars (bicuspids), two
cusps; and molars, three or more cusps. The vestibular surface (labial or buccal) of each tooth is directed
outwardly, and the lingual surface is directed inwardly. The mesial surface of a tooth is directed toward the median
plane of the facial part of the cranium. The distal surface is directed away from this plane; both mesial and distal
surfaces are contact surfacesthat is, surfaces that contact adjacent teeth. The masticatory surface is the occlusal
surface

Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

PARTS AND STRUCTURES OF TEETH

A tooth has a crown, neck, and root. The Crown projects from the gingiva. The Neck is between the crown and the
root. The Root is fixed in the tooth socket by the Periodontium; the number of roots varies. Most of the tooth is
composed of Dentine (L. dentinium), which is covered by Enamel over the crown and cement (L. cementum) over
the root.

Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

The tooth sockets are in the Alveolar processes of the maxillae and mandible and are the skeletal features that
display the greatest change during a lifetime. Adjacent sockets are separated by Interalveolar septa; within the
socket, the roots of teeth with more than one root are separated by Interradicular septa.
The roots of the teeth are connected to the bone of the Alveolus by a springy suspension forming a special type of
fibrous joint called a Dento-alveolar Syndesmosis or Gomphosis. The Periodontium (periodontal membrane)
is composed of collagenous fibers that extend between the cement of the root and the Periosteum of the alveolus.
It is abundantly supplied with tactile, pressoreceptive nerve endings, lymph capillaries, and glomerular blood
vessels that act as hydraulic cushioning to curb axial masticatory pressure. Pressoreceptive nerve endings are
capable of receiving changes in pressure as stimuli.
Vascularization
The superior and inferior alveolar
arteries, branches of the maxillary artery,
supply the maxillary and mandibular teeth,
respectively Alveolar veins with the same
names and distribution accompany the
arteries. Lymphatic vessels from the teeth
and gingivae pass mainly to the
submandibular lymph nodes

Innervation
The named branches of the superior (CN V2) and inferior
(CN V3) alveolar nerves give rise to dental plexuses that
supply the maxillary and mandibular teeth

Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

PALATE
The Palate forms the arched roof of the mouth and the floor of the nasal cavities. It separates the oral cavity from
the nasal cavities and the nasopharynx. The palate consists of two regions: the hard palate anteriorly and the
soft palate posteriorly

HARD PALATE
The Hard palate is vaulted (concave); this space is mostly filled by the tongue when it is at rest. The anterior two
thirds of the palate has a bony skeleton formed by the palatine processes of the maxillae and the horizontal plates
of the palatine bones. It forms a bony partition between the oral and nasal cavities.

SOFT PALATE
Soft palate is the movable posterior
third of the palate and is suspended
from the posterior border of the
hard palate. The soft palate has no
bony skeleton; however, its anterior
aponeurotic part is strengthened by
the palatine aponeurosis, which
attaches to the posterior edge of
the hard palate. The aponeurosis is
thick anteriorly and thin posteriorly,
where it blends with a posterior
muscular part. Posteroinferiorly, the
soft palate has a curved free
margin from which hangs a conical
process, the uvula.
It forms the posterior portion of the roof of the mouth, is an arch-shaped muscular partition between the
oropharynx and nasopharynx that is lined with mucous membrane
Vascularization
The Palate has a rich blood supply, chiefly from the Greater palatine artery. It passes through greater palatine
foramen and runs anteromedially. The lesser palatine artery enter the palate through the lesser palatine foramen
and anastomoses with the ascending palatine artery.
The veins of the Palate are tributaries of the Pterygoid venous plexus
Innervation
The sensory nerves of the Palate are branches of the Maxillary nerve (CNV 2), which branch from the
Pterygopalatine ganglion. The greater palatine nerve supplies the gingivae, mucous membrane, and glands of
most of the hard palate. The nasopalatine nerve supplies the mucosa membrane of the anterior part of the hard
palate. The lesser palatine nerve supply the soft palate.

TONGUE
The tongue is involved with mastication, taste, deglutition (swallowing), articulation, and oral cleansing; however,
its main functions are forming words during speaking and squeezing food into the oropharynx when swallowing.
Parts and surface of tongue
The tongue has a root, a body, an apex, a curved dorsum, and an inferior surface
The mucous membrane on the anterior part
of the tongue is rough because of the
presence of numerous small Lingual
Papillae. The vallate, foliate, and most of
the fungiform papillae contain taste
receptors in the
taste buds.

Alya Putri Khairani |130110110220 | A4

Muscles
The muscles of the tongue do not act in isolation and some muscles perform multiple actions; parts of a single
muscle are capable of acting independently, producing different, even antagonistic actions. In general, however,
extrinsic muscles alter the position of the tongue while intrinsic muscles alter its shape.
Vascularization
The arteries of the tongue are derived from the Lingual artery, which arises from the external carotid artery.
The dorsal lingual arteries supply the posterior part (root); the deep lingual arteries supply the anterior part.
The deep lingual arteries communicate with each other near the apex of the tongue.
The veins of the tongue are the dorsal lingual veins, which accompany the lingual artery; the deep lingual
veins, which begin at the apex of the tongue, run posteriorly beside the lingual frenulum to join the sublingual
vein
Innervation
There are four basic taste sensations: sweet, salty, sour, and
bitter. Sweetness is detected at the apex, saltiness at the
lateral margins, and sourness and bitterness at the posterior
part of the tongue. All other tastes expressed by gourmets
are olfactory (smell and aroma).

SALIVARY GLANDS
The salivary glands are the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands. The clear, tasteless, odorless viscid
fluid, saliva, secreted by these glands and the mucous glands of the oral cavity:

Keeps the mucous membrane of the mouth moist

Lubricates the food during mastication

Begins the digestion of starches

Serves as an intrinsic mouthwash.

Plays significant roles in the prevention of tooth decay and in the ability to taste.
In addition to the main salivary glands, small accessory salivary glands are scattered over the palate, lips,
cheeks, tonsils, and tongue.

Reference:
Moore Clinically Oriented Anatomy 6th edition