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Chapter 13.12 A Taste of Taste

BOOK TITLE: Understanding Medical Physiology: A Textbook for Medical Students

Author
1. Bijlani R.L.
ISBN
9788180612213
DOI
10.5005/jp/books/10999_98
Edition
3/e
Publishing Year
2004
Pages
5
Author Affiliations
1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Chapter keywords
taste fibres, tractus solitaries, salivatory, vagal nuclei, taste, nerve fibres, receptor cells, sensory cells, Taste buds

Abstract

This chapter discusses sense of taste that guides us towards pleasing foods as well as helps us select the required foods. Taste is a combination of the sensation conveyed by the tongue, and smell, temperature, and even texture of the food. Taste buds are in contact with the external environment through a pore, which leads to the apical surface of sensory cells. The sensory cells of taste buds are innervated by afferent nerve fibres of cranial nerves. The ultrastructure of the junctional region suggests chemical transmission. Vesicles are present in the receptor cells suggesting neurotransmitter release which excites the afferent nerve fibres. Children have taste buds on the soft palate and back of the throat too; these are innervated by the tenth cranial (vagus) nerve. The interaction of taste fibres in the tractus solitarius with salivatory and vagal nuclei explains the reflex increase in salivary and gastric secretion in response to a food having a pleasant taste.

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