Mouth

This article is about the body part in many animals. For the human body part, see Human mouth. For the landform, see River mouth. For other uses, see Mouth (disambiguation).
Mouth
A freshwater crocodile at Basel Zoo in Switzerland
Details
Identifiers
Latinos, oris[1]
MeSHD009055
TA98A05.1.00.001
TA2119, 2774
FMA49184
Anatomical terminology

The mouth is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or cavum oris in Latin),[2] is also the first part of the alimentary canal, which leads to the pharynx and the gullet. In tetrapod vertebrates, the mouth is bounded on the outside by the lips and cheeks — thus the oral cavity is also known as the buccal cavity (from Latin bucca, meaning "cheek")[3] — and contains the tongue on the inside. Except for some groups like birds and lissamphibians, vertebrates usually have teeth in their mouths,[4] although some fish species have pharyngeal teeth instead of oral teeth.

Most bilaterian phyla, including arthropods, molluscs and chordates, have a two-opening gut tube with a mouth at one end and an anus at the other. Which end forms first in ontogeny is a criterion used to classify bilaterian animals into protostomes and deuterostomes.

  1. ^ Schröder, Hannsjörg; Moser, Natasha; Huggenberger, Stefan (2020). Neuroanatomy of the Mouse: An Introduction. Springer International Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-3-03019-898-5. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  2. ^ Gray, Henry (1918). "2a. The Mouth". Gray's Anatomy. Archived from the original on Oct 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Buccal definition". Dictionary Reference. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Mouth definition". Dictionary Reference. The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on Sep 30, 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.