The human tongue contains no bones. It is composed entirely of muscle, making it highly flexible and capable of a wide range of movements crucial for speech and eating. While the hyoid bone, sometimes called the "lingual bone" or "tongue-bone," is located near the tongue and supports it, it is not in the tongue itself.
Understanding the Hyoid Bone's Role
The hyoid bone ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoid_bone ) is a unique horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck, below the mandible (jawbone) and above the larynx (voice box). It's crucial for tongue movement and swallowing, providing an attachment point for several muscles. However, it's important to distinguish the hyoid bone's supportive role from its direct presence within the tongue's structure. References such as Cleveland Clinic's articles on the hyoid bone (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/hyoid-bone) and the tongue (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22845-tongue) clarify this distinction.
Tongue Muscle and Structure
The tongue's remarkable flexibility and dexterity result from its intrinsic and extrinsic muscle structure. These muscles allow for complex three-dimensional changes in shape, essential for speech articulation (Stone and Lundberg, 1996). This is further supported by the research discussed in "Human Tongue Neuroanatomy: Nerve Supply and Motor Endplates..." (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2955167/). The absence of bone within the tongue itself contributes to its remarkable suppleness. Scientific American's article on tongue strength (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-the-tongue-is-the-strongest-muscle-in-the-body/) emphasizes this point.
