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Superior longitudinal lingual muscle

The superior longitudinal lingual muscle is a thin, intrinsic muscle of the tongue, positioned just beneath the mucous membrane on the dorsum of the tongue. It plays a crucial role in shaping the tongue during speech, swallowing, and mastication. The muscle fibers run longitudinally along the upper surface, enabling elevation and shortening of the tongue. Knowledge of its anatomy, nerve and vascular supply, as well as its imaging characteristics on MRI and CT, is essential for clinicians, radiologists, and surgeons.

Anatomy and Key Features

  • Function

    • Elevates the tip and sides of the tongue.

    • Shortens the tongue, aiding in articulation and mastication.

    • Assists in creating the concave dorsal surface for swallowing.

  • Origin

    • Submucosa of the posterior tongue near the epiglottis and median septum.

  • Insertion

    • Mucous membrane on the sides and tip of the tongue.

  • Nerve Supply

    • Hypoglossal nerve (cranial nerve XII) supplies motor innervation.

  • Artery Supply

    • Primarily by the lingual artery (branch of the external carotid artery).

    • Additional minor contributions from the tonsillar branch of the facial artery.

  • Vein Supply

    • Drained by the lingual veins, which accompany the lingual artery and drain into the internal jugular vein.

Imaging Appearance

  • MRI Appearance

    • T1-weighted: Appears as intermediate-to-low signal intensity compared to the adjacent fat and oral mucosa.

    • T2-weighted: Normal muscle demonstrates relatively low signal intensity, but increased signal may indicate edema or pathology.

    • STIR (Short Tau Inversion Recovery): Muscle appears with low to intermediate signal intensity; edema or pathology increases signal.

  • CT Appearance

    • The superior longitudinal lingual muscle appears as a soft tissue density structure along the superior aspect of the tongue, indistinct from other intrinsic tongue muscles unless pathology is present.

MRI images

superior longitudinal muscle of tongue MRI IMAGE -img-00000-00000