Biomechanics of Tongue–Food Interactions

Abstract

The complex muscular tissues of the tongue and sensory feedback allow rich biomechanical interactions with solid or liquid foods, enabling the perception of food texture, food destructuration, bolus formation and safe swallowing. After introducing the relevant anatomical features of the tongue, we discuss the biomechanical interactions of the tongue with food and describe some of the in vivo and in vitro approaches used to study these interactions.