• Main page
• About the journal
• Editorial board
• Subscription
• Information for contributors
• Editorial and Peer Review
• Issues archive
• Authors
• Articles
  • By alphabet
  • By category
• Blogs and comments

The journal is included into The list of leading scientific periodicals.

The journal is included into VINITI database and is registered in Electronic scientific library.

The journal is indexed by SCOPUS, Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory.

EBSCO

https://doi.org/10.14300/mnnc.2026.21032

Development of age-related tongue anatomy in the intermediate fetal human ontogenesis

[Morphology]
Tatyana Anatolyevna Alekseeva; Elena Dmitrievna Lutsay; Alexandr Korobkeev; Oxana Lezhnina; ;

The aim of the study was to identify the trends in the development of age-related tongue anatomy through the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis. 61 tongue preparations from human fetuses (aged 14–27 weeks) were examined, whereas the examination revealed longitudinal tongue growth predominating (163 %) within the period of weeks 14–18 through 19–22; from weeks 19–22 to 23–27, the growth rate was found to be slowing down to 130–132 %, with the tongue proportions remaining stable. The tongue’s position angle gradually decreases from 140° to 130°, corresponding to the transition to an arched configuration. In the first part of the intermediate fetal period, the growth of the vertical muscle (328 %) and the lingual septum (323 %) predominated, and during the second part, the diameter of the lingual artery featured the maximum growth rate (240 %), while the vertical muscle thickness growth decreased (143 %). The obtained quantitative data offer a fundamental basis for understanding tongue morphogenesis, as well as have practical implications for improving prenatal ultrasound diagnostics of maxillofacial anomalies.

Download

References:
1. Cobourne M. T., Iseki S., Birjandi A. A., Adel Al-Lami H., Thauvin-Robinet C. [et al.]. How to make a tongue: Cellular and molecular regulation of muscle and connective tissue formation during mammalian tongue development. Semin. Cell. Dev. Biol. 2019;91:45-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.04.016
2. Алексеева Т. А., Луцай Е. Д. Современное представление о развитии и строении языка в пренатальном онтогенезе человека. Наука и инновации в медицине. 2022;7(3):148-154. [Alekseeva T. A., Lutsay E. D. Current data on the development of tongue in prenatal period of human ontogenesis. Nauka i innovacii v medicine. – Science and Innovations in Medicine. 2022;7(3):148-154. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.35693/2500-1388-2022-7-3-148-154
3. Yamamoto M., Hirota Y., Watanabe G., Taniguchi S., Murakami G. [et al.]. Development and growth of median structures in the human tongue: A histological study using human fetuses and adult cadavers. Anat. Rec. (Hoboken). 2024;307(2):426-441. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25198
4. Koren N., Shust-Barequet S., Weissbach T., Raviv O., Abu Snenh S. [et al.]. Fetal Micro and Macroglossia: Defining Normal Fetal Tongue Size. J. Ultrasound. Med. 2023;42(1):59-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/jum.15983
5. Никитюк Д. Б., Капитонова М. Ю., Заднипряный И. В., Васильев Ю. Л., Дыдыкин С. С. [и др.]. Эмбриологическая терминология II (TE 2) с русскими эквивалентами. Москва : Торговый Дом «ДеЛи», 2025. [Nikityuk D. B., Kapitonova M. Yu., adnipryanyj I. V., Vasil’ev Yu. L., Dydykin S. S. [et al.]. Embriologicheskaya terminologiya II (TE 2) s russkimi ekvivalentami. Moscow: Trading House «DeLi», 2025. (In Russ.)].
6. Dursun A., Kastamonı Y., Kacaroglu D., Yuzbasıoglu N., Ertekın T. Morphometric development of the tongue in fetal cadavers. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2020;42(1):3-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02301-z
7. Непрокина А. В., Луцай Е. Д. К вопросу о становлении нижней челюсти у плодов в промежуточном плодном периоде онтогенеза человека. Forcipe. 2022;5(2):11-17. [Neprokina A. V., Lutsay E. D. K voprosu o stanovlenii nizhney chelyusti u plodov v promezhutochnom plodnom periode ontogeneza cheloveka. Forcipe. 2022;5(2):11-17. (In Russ.)].
8. D’Ambrosio V., Vena F., Manganaro L., Cascone P., Boccherini C. [et al.]. Fetal tongue posture associated with micrognathia: An ultrasound marker of cleft secondary palate? J. Clin. Ultrasound. 2020;48(1):48-51. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcu.22784
9. Resnick C. M., Estroff J. A., Kooiman T. D., Calabrese C. E., Koudstaal M. J., Padwa B. L. Pathogenesis of Cleft Palate in Robin Sequence: Observations From Prenatal Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2018;76(5):1058-1064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2017.10.006
10. Алексеева Т. А., Луцай Е. Д. Анатомия и топография языка в возрасте 19–22 недель пренатального онтогенеза человека. Медицинский вестник Северного Кавказа. 2025;20(4):359-363. [Alekseeva T. A., Lutsay E. D. Anatomy and topography of the tongue at 19–22 weeks of human prenatal ontogenesis. Meditsinskii vestnik Severnogo Kavkaza. – Medical News of North Caucasus. 2025;20(4):359-363. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.14300/mnnc.2025.20076
11. Венчикова Н. А., Ершова-Павлова А. А., Новикова И. В., Лазаревич А. А., Наумчик И. В. Современный подход к пренатальной ультразвуковой диагностике аномалий развития орофациальной области. Репродуктивное здоровье. Восточная Европа. 2022;1(12):29-37. [Venchikova N. A., Ershova-Pavlova A. A., Novikova I. V., Lazarevich A. A., Naumchik I. V. Modern approach to prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of anomalies in the development of the orofacial region. Reproduktivnoe zdorov’e. Vostochnaja Evropa. – Reproductive Health. Eastern Europe. 2022;1(12):29-37. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.34883/PI.2022.12.1.003
12. Hong S. J., Cha B. G., Kim Y. S., Lee S. K., Chi J. G. Tongue Growth during Prenatal Development in Korean Fetuses and Embryos. J. Pathol. Transl. Med. 2015;49(6):497-510. https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2015.09.17
13. Parada C., Chai Y. Mandible and Tongue Development. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 2015;115:31-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.ctdb.2015.07.023
14. Aguiar L. S., Juliano G. R., Silveira L. A. M., Oliveira M. S., Torquato B. G. S. [et al.]. Tongue development in stillborns autopsied at different gestational ages. J. Pediatr. (Rio J.). 2018;94(6):616-623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2017.08.009
15. Toure G., Vacher C. Anatomic study of tongue architecture based on fetal histological sections. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2006;28(6):547-552. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-006-0144-6
16. Hernandez-Andrade E., Romero R. Visualization of fetal tongue circulation using Doppler ultrasound. Ultrasound. Obstet. Gynecol. 2020;55(4):559-560. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.20393
17. Бычкова И. Ю., Рогинский В. В., Абдувосидов Х. А. Внутриутробное развитие и формирование кровеносных сосудов головы и шеи. Оперативная хирургия и клиническая анатомия (Пироговский научный жур- нал). 2023;7(1):50‑57. [Bychkova I. Yu., Roginskij V. V., Abduvosidov H. A. Intrauterine development and formation of blood vessels of the head and neck. Operativnaya hirurgiya i klinicheskaya anatomiya (Pirogovskij nauchnyj zhurnal). – Operative Surgery and Clinical Anatomy (Pirogov Scientific Journal). 2023;7(1):50‑57. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.17116/operhirurg2023701150
18. Мамедов А. А., Волков Ю. О., Корсунский А. А., Паршикова С. А., Мазурина Л. А. [и др.]. Междисциплинарное оказание помощи новорожденным с расщелиной губы и нёба в условиях детской многопрофильной больницы. Лечащий Врач. 2021;8:39-44. [Mamedov A. A., Volkov Yu. O., Korsunskij A. A., Parshikova S. A., Mazurina L. A. [et al.]. Interdisciplinary care for newborns with cleft lip and palate in a multidisciplinary children’s hospital. Lechashchij Vrach. – Attending Physician. 2021;8:39-44. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.51793/OS.2021.24.8.006

Keywords: tongue, anatomy, fetal period