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Tongue Growth during Prenatal Development in Korean Fetuses and Embryos
Soo Jeong Hong1, Bong Geun Cha2, Yeon Sook Kim3
1Department of Oral Pathology, College of Dentistry, Gangnueng-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Korea.
Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine
|October 17, 2015
Summary
Prenatal tongue growth significantly impacts oral-craniofacial development, influencing cranial base angulation and stimulating maxillary and mandibular growth for essential functions.
Area of Science:
- Embryology
- Craniofacial Development
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Prenatal tongue development's influence on oral-craniofacial structures is understudied.
- The muscular organ of the tongue plays a critical, yet under-investigated, role in early development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document the physiology of prenatal tongue growth.
- To investigate the impact of early tongue development on craniofacial structures.
Main Methods:
- Histological examination of facial and cranial base structures in 56 human embryos and 106 fetuses.
- Analysis of developmental stages from Streeter's stages 13-20 (fertilization age 28-51 days).
Main Results:
- The growing tongue protruded into the stomodeal cavity, compressing the cranial base and initiating spheno-occipital synchondrosis.
- Tongue growth influenced the angulation between the anterior cranial base (ACB) and posterior cranial base (PCB), stabilizing around 124°-126° from 6 weeks to birth.
- The tongue's positioning and growth contributed to the formation of the linguomandibular complex.
Conclusions:
- Early embryonic tongue growth is crucial for establishing ACB and PCB angulation.
- Tongue development stimulates maxillary growth and induces mandibular movement, essential for oral and maxillofacial functions.
- These findings highlight the tongue's role in coordinating craniofacial morphogenesis.
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