Mouth

          The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and saliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth.

           In addition to its primary role as the beginning of the digestive system, in humans the mouth also plays a significant role in communication. While primary aspects of the voice are produced in the throat, the tongue, lips, and jaw are also needed to produce the range of sounds included in human language. Another non-digestive function of the mouth is its role in secondary social and/or sexual activity, such as kissing.

          The mouth is normally moist, is lined with a mucous membrane, and contains the teeth. The lips mark the transition from mucous membrane to skin, which covers most of the body.

FUNCTION:

           The mouth plays an important role in sucking (it is part of the sucking apparatus), facial expression, eating, drinking, and breathing. Infants are born with a sucking reflex, by which they instinctively know to suck for nourishment using their lips and jaw.


            The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract; and, in fact, digestion starts here when taking the first bite of food. Chewing breaks the food into pieces that are more easily digested, while saliva mixes with food to begin the process of breaking it down into a form your body can absorb and use.