| taste bud | One of a number of flask-shaped cell nests located in the epithelium of vallate, fungiform, and foliate papillae of the tongue and also in the soft palate, epiglottis, and posterior wall of the pharynx; it consists of sustentacular, gustatory, and basal cells between which the intragemmal sensory nerve fibres terminate. Synonym: caliculus gustatorius, gustatory bud, Schwalbe's corpuscle, taste bulb, taste corpuscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| taste buds | Small sensory organs which contain gustatory receptor cells, basal cells, and supporting cells. Taste buds in humans are found in the epithelia of the tongue, palate, and pharynx. They are innervated by the chorda tympani nerve (a branch of the facial nerve) and the glossopharyngeal nerve. (12 Dec 1998) |
| taste bulb | One of a number of flask-shaped cell nests located in the epithelium of vallate, fungiform, and foliate papillae of the tongue and also in the soft palate, epiglottis, and posterior wall of the pharynx; it consists of sustentacular, gustatory, and basal cells between which the intragemmal sensory nerve fibres terminate. Synonym: caliculus gustatorius, gustatory bud, Schwalbe's corpuscle, taste bulb, taste corpuscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste cells | Darkly staining cell's in a taste bud that appear to have extending into the gustatory pore long hair-like microvilli containing a number of closely packed microtubules; the taste cell's stand in synaptic contact with sensory nerve fibres of the facial, glossopharyngeal, or vagus nerves. Synonym: gustatory cells. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste corpuscle | One of a number of flask-shaped cell nests located in the epithelium of vallate, fungiform, and foliate papillae of the tongue and also in the soft palate, epiglottis, and posterior wall of the pharynx; it consists of sustentacular, gustatory, and basal cells between which the intragemmal sensory nerve fibres terminate. Synonym: caliculus gustatorius, gustatory bud, Schwalbe's corpuscle, taste bulb, taste corpuscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste deficiency | Reduced or absent ability to detect a bitter taste in a group of compounds of which phenylthiocarbamide is the prototype, due to the homozygous state of a common allele. See: phenylthiourea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste hairs | Hairlike projections of gustatory cells of taste buds; electron micrographs show them to be clusters of microvilli. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste ridge | One of the ridge's surrounding the vallate papillae of the tongue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| taste threshold | The minimum concentration at which taste sensitivity to a particular substance or food can be perceived. (12 Dec 1998) |
| franklinic taste | A metallic or sour taste produced by the application of static electricity to the tongue. Synonym: voltaic taste. (05 Mar 2000) |