I just swallowed a glass of juice, and I noticed that my tongue actually 
participates in the swallowing process. It performs a wave like contraction 
that propels the bolus along to the back of the throat to enable swallowing. 
Maybe it doesn't enclose the bolus like the rest of the gut, but the 
movement seems similar.  I'm sure it's controlled by similar mechanisms and 
forms part of the propulsion of peristalsis.
Nan Jolly M.B. B.Ch. LLLL
Port Elizabeth, South Africa


> Jennifer Tow wrote:
>> First,
>>when babies are "gulping down" 4 oz in 4 minutes, there is not a lot of
>>tongue peristalsis going on. Since gut peristalsis is in part dependent
>>upon the peristalsis of the tongue,
>
> Jennifer, do you have a reference for this idea that peristalsis in the 
> gut is dependent in part on that of the tongue?  In adults, peristalsis 
> begins with the swallow, and control of peristalsis in various parts of 
> the digestive system > is controlled by complex nerve processes and 
> hormones, according to > their contents.
> Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC

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