Revise the assertion that the tongue is part of the mouth

[rays22]

Uberon term

• UBERON:0001723
• Query: Is the tongue really part of the mouth?

Suggested revision and reasons

The assertion of the tongue being part of the mouth has been questioned in the HP-related uPheno issue #957. The problem is that the chain of transitive links between anatomical entities results in some counter-intuitive inferences in phenotype class hierarchies. Note, that these questionable inferences depend on the materialisation of the 'part of' relationships in the phenotype subclass hierarchy (i.e. HP and uPheno), but it is still worth considering this issue in Uberon.

• Q: Is the tongue part of the mouth?

Yes, the tongue is part of the mouth. It's a muscular organ located within the oral cavity and plays crucial roles in speaking, chewing, swallowing, and tasting food.

• Q: OK, I understand that the oral cavity contains the tongue. However, is the tongue really part of a cavity ontologically, or is it just located there?

You've raised an interesting ontological question about the nature of the tongue and its relationship to the oral cavity. Let's examine this more closely:

1. Physical location: The tongue is indeed located within the oral cavity, but this alone doesn't necessarily make it "part of" the cavity in an ontological sense.
2. Anatomical classification: Anatomically, the tongue is considered a distinct organ with its own structure, musculature, and function. It's not part of the walls or lining of the oral cavity.
3. Developmental origin: The tongue develops separately from the structures that form the oral cavity during embryonic development.
4. Functional relationship: While the tongue functions within the oral cavity, it can be argued that it's more of an occupant or inhabitant of the space rather than an integral part of the cavity itself.
5. Conceptual distinction: We can conceptually separate the tongue from the oral cavity - we can imagine a mouth without a tongue, or a tongue removed from a mouth, which suggests they are distinct entities.

Given these considerations, it's more accurate to say that the tongue is an organ located within the oral cavity, rather than being a part of the cavity itself. Ontologically, the tongue and the oral cavity can be considered separate entities that have a close spatial and functional relationship. This distinction highlights the complexity of anatomical and ontological classifications in biology. While in everyday language we might say the tongue is "part of the mouth," a more precise ontological analysis reveals a more nuanced relationship.

Tasks:

Revise the assertion that the tongue is part of the mouth

Check existing (open or closed) issues that may be related:

• [x] Revision for the definition of tongue #256
  • Issue #256 is not about partonomy.
• [x] Review request: mouth #180 There is a dead link in the issue description, which makes it difficult to assess if that more than 10 years old issue is relevant or not to the partonomy of the tongue or the oral cavity.
• [x] Review the assertion that the tongue is part of the mouth.
• [ ] If the partonomy is not appropriate, then revise the relationship between the tongue and the mouth. Consider using located in.

[rays22]

• This issue was discussed in the 2024-07-15 Uberon editors' meeting.
• In Uberon, the tongue is part of the mouth, which looks correct for the Uberon editors.
• The oral cavity is part of the mouth, which looks correct, because an anatomical cavity (e.g. UBERON:0000167) can be part of a material anatomical entity (e.g. UBERON:0000165), but not the other way around in Uberon.
• There is no direct or transitive 'part of' relationship between the tongue and the face in Uberon, which seems to be the root of the problem for problematic inferences related to HP:3000076 Abnormality of lingual tonsil.
• There is no 'part of' relationship between the mouth and the face in Uberon, which appears to be the root of the problem of the problematic inferences related to HP:3000076 Abnormality of lingual tonsil.