A Tongue Depressor is a tool used in medical practice to depress the tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat. The most common modern tongue depressors are flat, thin, wooden blades, smoothed and rounded at both ends.
A tongue depressor may be inserted over the tongue to facilitate insertion of an oran airway and prevent downfolding of the tongue, which could impair venous and lymphatic drainage, causing tongue swelling and airway obstruction.
