15. Taste
As usual, parts concerning anatomy are mainly composed of definitions and graphs, as
they are in the textbook.
t = taste ; tg = tongue ; dvpt = development; b = bulb(s); envt = environment; w/ =
with; = = is/are; f = flavour
Taste versus flavour
Taste = sensations evoked by solutions in the mouth that contact receptors on the tg and the roof of the
mouth than then connect to axons in cranial nerves VII, IX and X.
Retronasal olfactory sensation = the sensation of an odour that is perceived when chewing and
swallowing force an odorant in the mouth up behind the palate into the nose. Such odour sensations are
perceived as originating from the mouth, even though the actual contact of odorant and receptor occurs
at the olfactory mucosa.
Flavour = combination of true taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and Retronasal olfaction.
Retronasal olfactory input enhances the taste of sweet. Somatosensations have protective +
identification functions.
Localizing flavour sensations
Because you taste and feel the food only in your mouth (not in your nose), your brain concludes that the
sensations must have arisen entirely from the mouth. Some food (mustard, wasabi…) activate pain
receptors all the way up through the retronasal passage. When we eat these foods, we experience the
sensations as coming from our noses as well as our mouths. These are exceptions which prove the rule.
Chorda tympani = branch of cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) that carries taste information from the
anterior, mobile tongue. It exits the tongue with the lingual branch of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve
V) and then passes through the middle ear on its way to the brain.
Cranial nerves = twelve pairs of nerves (one for each side of the body) the originate in the brain stem
and reach sense organs and muscles through openings in the skull.
, The brain processes odours differently, depending on whether they come from the mouth or through
the nostrils. Industrials: can use the interactions between smell and taste to use more or less sugar, salt
etc in their products.
Anatomy and physiology of the gustatory system
As usual, parts concerning anatomy are mainly composed of definitions and graphs, as
they are in the textbook.
t = taste ; tg = tongue ; dvpt = development; b = bulb(s); envt = environment; w/ =
with; = = is/are; f = flavour
Taste versus flavour
Taste = sensations evoked by solutions in the mouth that contact receptors on the tg and the roof of the
mouth than then connect to axons in cranial nerves VII, IX and X.
Retronasal olfactory sensation = the sensation of an odour that is perceived when chewing and
swallowing force an odorant in the mouth up behind the palate into the nose. Such odour sensations are
perceived as originating from the mouth, even though the actual contact of odorant and receptor occurs
at the olfactory mucosa.
Flavour = combination of true taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and Retronasal olfaction.
Retronasal olfactory input enhances the taste of sweet. Somatosensations have protective +
identification functions.
Localizing flavour sensations
Because you taste and feel the food only in your mouth (not in your nose), your brain concludes that the
sensations must have arisen entirely from the mouth. Some food (mustard, wasabi…) activate pain
receptors all the way up through the retronasal passage. When we eat these foods, we experience the
sensations as coming from our noses as well as our mouths. These are exceptions which prove the rule.
Chorda tympani = branch of cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) that carries taste information from the
anterior, mobile tongue. It exits the tongue with the lingual branch of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve
V) and then passes through the middle ear on its way to the brain.
Cranial nerves = twelve pairs of nerves (one for each side of the body) the originate in the brain stem
and reach sense organs and muscles through openings in the skull.
, The brain processes odours differently, depending on whether they come from the mouth or through
the nostrils. Industrials: can use the interactions between smell and taste to use more or less sugar, salt
etc in their products.
Anatomy and physiology of the gustatory system
