Exam 3 Review:  Chapter 23:  Oral Cavity I - Walls

oral cavity - The first portion of the gastrointestinal tract, the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge, it is bounded by the lips, cheeks, palate, and tongue, and ends where it merges with the oropharynx; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium and has as accessory structures, the teeth and salivary glands.  nickname - mouth.

buccal cavity - The external portion of the oral cavity located between the jaws and teeth and the cheeks; it serves as a space to trap food while it is masticated by the chewing action of the jaws and teeth; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

labia - The folds (superior and inferior) of the integument at the opening of the oral cavity and of the vulva; in the oral cavity they are identified with the red margin = vermilion border (extraoral labial cutaneous junction), where ordinary skin with hair follicles is replaced by a thin hairless keratinised stratified squamous epithelium; the help process and trap food while it is masticated by the chewing action of the jaws and teeth and assist in the articulation of speech.  aka - lips.

red margin = vermilion border - The red margin of the upper and lower lips which commences at the exterior edge of the intraoral labial mucosa ("moist line") and extends outward, terminating at the extraoral labial cutaneous junction; a keratinised stratified squamous epithelium deeply penetrated by well-vascularised dermal papillae which show through the translucent epidermis to impart the typical red appearance of the lips; some individuals have considerable melanin deposition in this region as well.

labial frenulum - The thin band or fold of mucosal tissue (superior and inferior) which attaches the buccal surface of the labia to the midline at the juncture of the labia and the gingivae in the buccal cavity.

cheeks - The fleshy part of either side of the face below the eye and between the nose and ear which form the lateral walls of the oral (and buccal) cavity; they serve as a barrier to trap food in the buccal cavity while it is masticated by the chewing action of the jaws and teeth; they are lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium; they contain facial muscles and the ducts of the parotid salivary glands.

(oral) vestibule - In general, a cavity, chamber, or channel which leads to or is an entrance to another cavity; in the oral cavity, it is the medial continuation of the buccal cavity, located between the jaws and teeth and the labia; it serves as a space to trap food while it is masticated by the chewing action of the jaws and teeth; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

oral cavity proper - The larger inner portion of the oral cavity, the space where food is chewed and moistened by saliva and where some articulations of speech sounds occur, it is bounded by the alveolar processes of the jaws and their teeth, the cheeks, palate, and tongue, and ends where it merges with the oropharynx; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

fauces - The distal inner portion of the oral cavity proper, the passageway for food from the back of the oral cavity to the oropharynx; it is bounded by the soft palate, the base of the tongue, and the palatine arches; on either side of the passage two membranous folds, called the pillars of the fauces, enclose the tonsils.

hard palate - The relatively hard, vaulted anterior portion of the palate forming the anterior portion of the roof of the mouth, beneath the mucosa lie the palatine processes of the maxillae and the horizontal plates of the palatine bones; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

soft palate - The movable fold, consisting of skeletal muscular fibers enclosed in a mucous membrane, which is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking; the uvula depends from it; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

uvula  - The small, conical, fleshy mass of mucosal tissue suspended from the center of the soft palate; it assists in completing the closure of the nasal cavity by the soft palate during swallowing or sucking; it is lined by a wet stratified squamous epithelium.

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