On the issue of the influence of craniometric parameters of the skull on the development of the tongue in the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis

Purpоse. The objective is to identify the influence of craniometric parameters of the skull on the development of the tongue in the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis. Materials and methods. The study was performed on 59 tongue preparations from human fetuses of both sexes at the age of the intermediate fetal period of ontogenesis. The research methods included craniometry, macro- and microscopic preparation, histotopographic method, tongue morphometry, photography. Results and discussion. It was revealed that the increase in the linear parameters of the skull corresponds to an increase in the longitudinal and transverse dimensions, the area of the back and the thickness of the tongue, as well as to a decrease in the angle formed by the border groove of the tongue and the transverse-longitudinal index of the tongue. The area of the back of the tongue demonstrates the highest growth rate, increasing 9 times. The most significant changes in the linear parameters of the tongue occur from the 14th to the 19th week of prenatal ontogenesis. Sex-related features of the tongue parameters were not revealed in the period under study. Conclusion. The presence of a quantitative relationship between the development of the skull, its type and the size of the tongue was revealed.