Light micrograph of a section through a human tongue. The body of the tongue consists of a mass of interlacing bundles of skeletal muscle fibres (lower two thirds of this section) which permit an extensive range of movements. The mucous membrane (top third of the section) is firmly bound to the muscle by dense collagenous fibres. The surface epithelium has many papillae. Filliform are the most numerous type (the feathery projections seen here at the centre of the mucosal surface). The mucosa also possesses vascular fungiform papillae, and circumvallate papillae which are found at the back of the tongue. Magnification: x20 at 6x7cm size, x10 at 35mm size.