Introduction

This topic covers the histology of structures found in the mouth, including the lip, teeth, tongue and salivary glands, together with the structure and function of the oesophagus.

Objectives

By the time you have finished working your way through this module, you should know:

1. The structural plan: components and functions of the four basic layers, which are common to most of the digestive tract.
2. The histological structure of the mouth, lip and the tongue.
3. The names and histological structure of the three main types of papillae found on the tongue.
4. The similarities and differences in the structure of the major salivary glands.
5. The structure of teeth.
6. How the histological structure of the oesophagus is related to its functions.