Mouth

In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on the outside by the lips and inside by the pharynx. In tetrapods, it contains the tongue and, except for some like birds, teeth. This cavity is also known as the buccal cavity, from the Latin bucca. Some animal phyla, including arthropods, molluscs and chordates, have a complete digestive system, with a mouth at one end and an anus at the other. Which end forms first in ontogeny is a criterion used to classify bilaterian animals into protostomes and deuterostomes.

Read more in the app

Gum Disease Isn't Only a Problem For Your Mouth. Here's What to Know

Needle-Free Covid-19 Vaccines Approved in China and India. Doses inhaled through the mouth or nose might provide better protection against mild infections and transmission, preliminary studies show.

Ancient Fish Fossil Suggests That Teeth Didn't Evolve From Inside The Mouth

This Caterpillar-Like Organism May Be Crawling Around in Your Mouth Right Now

Sac with a mouth and no anus wasn't our earliest ancestor after all

Cambrian Animal with Mouth but No Anus Is Not Earliest Human Ancestor, Paleontologists Say

Twin 'grumpy mouth' reliefs of Olmec contortionists discovered in Mexico

What Is Foot-And-Mouth Disease?

Natural food more mouth-watering to children than processed fare

Male dogs four times more likely to develop contagious cancer on nose or mouth than females

Infectious Cancer: Male Dogs Four Times More Likely To Develop Contagious Cancer on Nose or Mouth

What Is 'Paxlovid Mouth' And Why Is It So Unpleasant?

Why does eating pineapple make your mouth tingle?

‘Mouth Almighty’ Doesn’t Mind When His Cheeks Are Full of Another Fish’s Babies

Scientists develop a wireless system for continuous in-mouth pH monitoring that could eventually be used to help diagnose conditions like diabetes, inflammation, and infection

"Smart" Mouth Guards Are Helping Scientists Study Head Trauma in Football Players

To See Where a Whale Has Been, Look in Its Mouth

Giant 'phantom jellyfish' that eats with mouth-arms spotted off California coast

'Tongue-eating' lice invade fish's mouth in this year's creepiest Halloween photo

Novel sugar detector system in the human mouth has implications for designing tastier, healthier beverages and foods