# Tongue anatomy question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260 "2008-11-18T05:55:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/1 "2008-11-18T05:55:08Z")
What are these things: [http://www.ishiboo.com/~nirva/Mods/tonguesplit/tongue\_split.jpg](http://www.ishiboo.com/~nirva/Mods/tonguesplit/tongue_split.jpg) Pardon the bifurcated tongue, but it seems most pictures one can find on “tongue” searches are bifurcated or something weird. Anyway, the little dimples sticking out along the two lines under the tongue - what are they called and what do they do? In that picture, you can really only see one sticking out - it is whitish and about in the middle of the right half of the tongue. ---
**Author:** ![SharkB8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@SharkB8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharkB8)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/2 "2008-11-18T12:53:55Z")
[The sublingual caruncles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublingual_caruncle) I presume from whence we [gleek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleeking). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/3 "2008-11-18T12:59:01Z")
Yep, it’s an opening for one of the spit glands, although that’s not it’s formal name. It’s usually called a sublingual gland, or a sublingual salivary gland. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/4 "2008-11-18T14:54:09Z")
> [@SharkB8](#): > > I presume from whence we [gleek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleeking). 🙂 Whoa. There’s a word for it? I learned my something new today! ---
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/5 "2008-11-19T06:09:18Z")
Here, I have made arrows pointing to what I’m talking about. The double arrow to the dimple that seems obvious, the single arrows to others (which I think are the same, but harder to see). [http://omploader.org/veHcx](http://omploader.org/veHcx) They just have always been so small that I’ve barely noticed them before - but recently one got spontaneously swollen and it looks like a little sausage now. I’m sure it will heal up fine, but I’m still curious. ---
**Author:** ![SharkB8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@SharkB8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharkB8)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/6 "2008-11-19T12:26:36Z")
> [@human\_extinction](#): > > Here, I have made arrows pointing to what I’m talking about. The double arrow to the dimple that seems obvious, the single arrows to others (which I think are the same, but harder to see). > > [http://omploader.org/veHcx](http://omploader.org/veHcx) > > They just have always been so small that I’ve barely noticed them before - but recently one got spontaneously swollen and it looks like a little sausage now. I’m sure it will heal up fine, but I’m still curious. IANAD, but I still think it’s what we all are talking about. Perhaps you’ve had some minor trauma to one of the ducts or a blockage and it’s become infected…that could cause swelling. But what you’re pointing at still looks like a sublingual caruncle to me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/7 "2008-11-19T13:10:44Z")
> [@human\_extinction](#): > > Here, I have made arrows pointing to what I’m talking about. The double arrow to the dimple that seems obvious, the single arrows to others (which I think are the same, but harder to see). > > [http://omploader.org/veHcx](http://omploader.org/veHcx) > > They just have always been so small that I’ve barely noticed them before - but recently one got spontaneously swollen and it looks like a little sausage now. I’m sure it will heal up fine, but I’m still curious. Yep. IANAD, but them’s the bits we learned about in anatomy class. ---
**Author:** ![human\_extinction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/839c29/32.png) [@human\_extinction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/human_extinction)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-anatomy-question/473260/8 "2008-11-19T15:14:05Z")
Thanks - I was sure because they are so small.