Taste bud
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Overview
| Taste bud | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Semidiagrammatic view of a portion of the mucous membrane of the tongue. Two fungiform papillæ are shown. On some of the filiform papillæ the epithelial prolongations stand erect, in one they are spread out, and in three they are folded in. | |
 | |
| The mouth cavity. The cheeks have been slit transversely and the tongue pulled forward. | |
| Gray's | subject #222 991 |
| MeSH | Taste+Buds |
|
WikiDoc Resources for Taste bud | |
|
Articles | |
|---|---|
|
Most recent articles on Taste bud | |
|
Media | |
|
Evidence Based Medicine | |
|
Clinical Trials | |
|
Ongoing Trials on Taste bud at Clinical Trials.gov Clinical Trials on Taste bud at Google
| |
|
Guidelines / Policies / Govt | |
|
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Taste bud
| |
|
Books | |
|
News | |
|
Commentary | |
|
Definitions | |
|
Patient Resources / Community | |
|
Patient resources on Taste bud Discussion groups on Taste bud Directions to Hospitals Treating Taste bud Risk calculators and risk factors for Taste bud
| |
|
Healthcare Provider Resources | |
|
Causes & Risk Factors for Taste bud | |
|
Continuing Medical Education (CME) | |
|
International | |
|
| |
|
Businness | |
|
Experimental / Informatics | |
Taste buds are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, and epiglottis that provide information about the taste of food being eaten.
The human tongue has about 10,000 taste buds.
Types of papillae
The majority of taste buds on the tongue sit on raised protrusions of the tongue surface called papillae. There are four types of papillae present in the human tongue:
- Fungiform papillae - as the name suggests, these are slightly mushroom shaped if looked at in section. These are present mostly at the apex (tip) of the tongue, as well as at the sides. Innervated by facial nerve.
- Filiform papillae - these are thin, long papillae "V"-shaped cones that don't contain taste buds but are the most numerous. These papillae are mechanical and not involved in gustation. Characterized increased keratinization.
- Foliate papillae - these are ridges and grooves towards the posterior part of the tongue found on lateral margins. Innervated by facial nerve (anterior papillae) and glossopharyngeal nerve (posterior papillae).
- Circumvallate papillae - there are only about 3-14 of these papillae on most people, and they are present at the back of the oral part of the tongue. They are arranged in a circular-shaped row just in front of the sulcus terminalis of the tongue. They are associated with ducts of Von Ebner's glands. Innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve.
It is known that there are five taste sensations:
- Sweet, Bitter, and Umami (now sometimes called Savory), which work with a signal through a G-protein coupled receptor.
- Salty and Sour, which work with ion channels.
Localization of taste and the human "tongue map"
Contrary to popular understanding that different tastes map to different areas of the tongue, taste qualities are found in all areas of the tongue.[1][1][1]
The original "tongue map" was based on a mistranslation by Harvard psychologist Edwin G. Boring of a German paper that was written in 1901.[1] Sensitivity to all tastes occurs across the whole tongue and indeed to other regions of the mouth where there are taste buds (epiglottis, soft palate).[1]
Structure of taste buds
Each taste bud is flask-like in shape, its broad base resting on the corium, and its neck opening by an orifice, the gustatory pore, between the cells of the epithelium.
The bud is formed by two kinds of cells: supporting cells and gustatory cells.
- The supporting (sustentacular) cells are mostly arranged like the staves of a cask, and form an outer envelope for the bud. Some, however, are found in the interior of the bud between the gustatory cells.
- The gustatory (taste) cells, a chemoreceptor, occupy the central portion of the bud; they are spindle-shaped, and each possesses a large spherical nucleus near the middle of the cell.
The peripheral end of the cell terminates at the gustatory pore in a fine hair-like filament, the gustatory hair.
The central process passes toward the deep extremity of the bud, and there ends in single or bifurcated varicosities.
The nerve fibrils after losing their medullary sheaths enter the taste bud, and end in fine extremities between the gustatory cells; other nerve fibrils ramify between the supporting cells and terminate in fine extremities; these, however, are believed to be nerves of ordinary sensation and not gustatory.
See also
Additional images
schematic drawing of a taste bud |
 taste bud (nerve missing) |
References
External links
- Beyond the Tongue Map
- Taste Perception: Cracking the Code
- Scientists Explore the Workings of Taste Buds from National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation, July 22, 2005
Sensory system: Gustatory system | |
|---|---|
| Tongue | Taste bud (Circumvallate papillae, Filiform papilla, Fungiform papilla) • Foliate papillae |
| Other | Gustatory cortex • Basic tastes |
da:Smagsløg de:Geschmacksknospeit:Papilla he:פקעיות טעם nl:Smaakpapil no:Smaksløksimple:Tastebud sv:Smaklök
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
