Gustatory
sensation: (taste)
-
The
tongue contains nearly two thousand taste buds, although they are also
located in small numbers in the soft palate and in the throat. Taste buds
are oval-shaped bodies containing three types of cells:
-
supporting
(sustentacular) cells-- specialized epithelium, forming a capsule over
four to twenty gustatory cells
-
gustatory
cells-- contain hair-like processes extending to openings in the bud (taste
pore) to taste substances
-
basal
cells-- found near the basal lamina and produce the gustatory and supporting
cells
-
On
the tongue taste buds are located on bumps of connective tissue called
papillae. Circumvallate or vallate papillae are the largest of these, found
on the posterior part of the tongue. Fungiform papillae are found on the
tip and sides of the tongue, filiform on the majority of the tongue
-
To
be tasted, substances must be suspended in saliva, and an interaction occurs
which creates a nerve impulse. There are four primary tastes: sour, salt,
sweet, and bitter
-
Impulses
travel from the tongue to either the facial or glossopharengeal cranial
nerves. They move to the medulla, then the thalamus, ending up in the gustatorial
area of the cortex of the parietal lobe
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