Mouth ridges
July 17th, 2007 | Published in Biology, Science | 3 Comments
The other day I saw our kitten yawn and I realized that not only does this little thing yawn like us, but it also has ridges on the top of its mouth. Does anyone know why we have ridges on the top of our mouths? If so, please enlighten me.
Update: Nick gives us the answer: they “help the tongue manipulate food for digestion, prior to swallowing. In other words, they act as tread so the food item doesn’t go slipping around all over your mouth.” It seems to work pretty well!
By the way, this shows a current weakness of digital information. I couldn’t find information on this because I didn’t know what to look for — searching Google for “ridges on mouth” or similar terms came up with nothing relevant. The term I was looking for, Nick had to provide. (Which was, by the way “transverse palatine folds” or “friction ridges.”) Without knowing the context, I couldn’t find the information. Thanks, Nick!
July 17th, 2007 at 10:41 pm (#)
I asked my wife Felicia (the Physician’s Assistant) and she said they are called “transverse palatine folds” or “friction ridges.” The big one up front is called the “incisive papilla.” They function to help the tongue manipulate food for digestion, prior to swallowing. In other words, they act as tread so the food item doesn’t go slipping around all over your mouth.
What a great example of how intricate God made our bodies!
July 18th, 2007 at 12:30 pm (#)
Yea I was just going to ask… “Ever gotten food stuck to the top of your mouth? Could you imagine trying to get rid of it without ridges?” :) But Nick gave a good scientific explenation.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:21 am (#)
Further, what I find amazing is that they grow back after being burned off. . .like from pizza! Ouch! Amazing…