taste bud

(noun)

Sensory receptors located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, and epiglottis.

Related Terms

  • anosmia
  • olfactory bulb

Examples of taste bud in the following topics:

  • Taste and Smell at Birth and in Old Age

    • Taste buds contain the receptors for taste and are located around the small structures (papillae) on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, and epiglottis.
    • Via small openings in the tongue epithelium (taste pores), parts of the food dissolved in saliva come into contact with taste receptors (taste buds).
    • On average, the human tongue has 2,000–8,000 taste buds.
    • The average life of a taste bud is 10 days.
    • Structure of the taste bud, including afferent nerve, connective tissue, basal cell, taste receptor cell, lingual epithelium, oral cavity, and taste pore.
  • Classification of Receptors by Stimulus

    • During taste, sensory neurons in our taste buds detect chemical qualities of our foods including sweetness, bitterness, sourness, saltiness, and umami (savory taste).
  • Aging and the Digestive System

    • Loss of taste, which can be caused by local damage and inflammation that interferes with the taste buds stemming from radiation therapy, tobacco use, and denture use.
  • Overview of Sensation

    • The sense of taste is often confused with the concept of flavor, which is a combination of taste and smell perception.
    • Flavor depends on odor, texture, and temperature as well as on taste.
    • Humans receive tastes through sensory organs called taste buds, or gustatory calyculi, concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue.
    • Five basic tastes exist: sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami.
    • The inability to taste is called ageusia.
  • Sensory Modalities

    • The basic sensory modalities include: light, sound, taste, temperature, pressure, and smell.
    • Taste stimuli are encountered by receptor cells located in taste buds on the tongue and pharynx.
    • Receptor cells disseminate onto different neurons and convey the message of a particular taste in a single medullar nucleus.
    • Taste perception is created by combining multiple sensory inputs.
    • Different modalities help determine the perception of taste.
  • Development of the Respiratory System

    • Figure 1 shows the right and left lung buds from which the bronchi and lungs will develop.
    • Lung buds from a human embryo of about four weeks, showing commencing lobulations.
  • Glossopharyngeal (IX) Nerve

    • It controls muscles in the oral cavity and upper throat, as well as part of the sense of taste and the production of saliva.
    • Along with taste, the glossopharyngeal nerve relays general sensations from the pharyngeal walls.
    • It receives special sensory fibers (taste) from the posterior 1/3 of the tongue.
    • Special sensory (special afferent): Provides taste sensation from the posterior 1/3 of the tongue.
  • Development of the Skeleton

    • Blood vessels forming the periosteal bud invade the cavity left by the chondrocytes and branch in opposite directions along the length of the shaft.
    • Osteoblasts, differentiated from the osteoprogenitor cells that entered the cavity via the periosteal bud, use the calcified matrix as a scaffold and begin to secrete osteoid, which forms the bone trabecula.
  • Sensory Areas

    • Sensory areas of the brain receive and process sensory information, including sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing.
    • The five commonly recognized sensory modalities, including sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, are processed as follows:
  • Facial (VII) Nerve

    • The facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) determines facial expressions and the taste sensations of the tongue.
    • It also functions in the conveyance of taste sensations from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and oral cavity, and it supplies preganglionic parasympathetic fibers to several head and neck ganglia.
    • Taste can be tested on the anterior 2/3 of the tongue.
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