Nightingale Anatomy Practice Exam

The main idea here is that extrinsic tongue muscles are defined by where they start. They originate outside the tongue (from bones or other structures like the mandible, hyoid, or skull) and insert into the tongue, allowing the tongue to move as a whole. Intrinsic muscles, on the other hand, are contained entirely within the tongue and mainly change its shape rather than move it as a unit. So, saying that extrinsic muscles have their origin outside the tongue correctly describes the key difference between the two muscle groups.

The other statements don’t capture that distinction. Insertion into the tongue is true for extrinsic but not a unique differentiator, since intrinsic muscles also connect within the tongue. Being located within the tongue is false for extrinsic, and there isn’t a reliable rule that extrinsic are longer than intrinsic.