These taste buds receive sensory innervation from axons coursing with the chords tympani nerve, a branch of the facial nerve. The vallate papillae also contain taste buds. These taste buds receive their innervation from the glossopharyngeal nerve. The muscles of the tongue can be divided into extrinsic and intrinsic muscles. Extrinsic muscles serve to move the tongue about in the oral cavity.
Intrinsic muscles act to change the shape of the tongue.
The genioglossus attaches to the anterior extreme of the mandible and acts to pull the tongue forward or protrude it. The hyoglossus attaches to the hyoid bone. It pulls the tongue down and posterior or retracts and depresses. The stvloglossus attaches to the styloid process. It retracts and elevates the tongue.