The time course of structural changes in fungiform papillae was analyzed in rats that received unilateral chorda tympani nerve transection at 10 days of age. Morphological differences between intact and denervated sides of the tongue were first observed at 8 days postsection, with an increase in the number of fungiform papillae that did not have a pore. In addition, the first papilla with a fil...

Unilateral interruption of the chorda-lingual nerve led to a loss of most epithelial axons and to the deterioration of fungiform taste buds in the anterior portion of the tongue of albino rats, mongolian gerbils, and golden hamsters. By three weeks after surgery the following percentages of fungiform taste buds had completely disappeared: 71% in gerbils, 28% in rats, and 26% in hamsters. Residu...

Sensory ganglia that innervate taste buds and gustatory papillae (geniculate and petrosal) are reduced in volume by about 40% in mice with a targeted deletion of the gene for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In contrast, the trigeminal ganglion, which innervates papillae but not taste buds on the anterior tongue, is reduced by only about 18%. These specific alterations in ganglia that ...

The dorsal lingual papillae of the lesser mouse deer were studied morphologically using light and scanning electron microscopy. Four types of papillae, filiform, fungiform, vallate and foliate, were observed. Filiform papillae consisted of larger main papillae with smaller secondary papillae on their anterolateral aspects. Secondary papillae were well distributed over the anterior two-thirds of...

Taste buds on the mammalian tongue are confined to the epithelium of three types of gustatory papillae: the fungiform, circumvallate, and foliate. The gustatory papillae are composed of an epithelium that covers a broad connective tissue core, with extensive innervation to taste bud and nongustatory epithelial locations. Although the temporal sequence of gustatory papilla development is known f...

BackgroundWe sought to determine whether ongoing taste disturbance in the postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 period is associated with persistent virus primary tissue.MethodsWe performed fungiform papillae biopsies on 16 patients who reported lasting more than 6 weeks after molecularly determined severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Then, multiple occasions, w...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-4 are required for normal taste bud development. Although these neurotrophins normally function via the tyrosine kinase receptor, trkB, they also bind to the pan-neurotrophin receptor, p75. The goal of the present study was to determine whether the p75 receptor is required for the development or maintenance of a full complement of adult taste b...

BACKGROUND Smoking is the cause of inducing changes in taste functionality under conditions of chronic exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate taste sensitivity in young smokers and non-smokers and identify any differences in the shape, density and vascularisation of the fungiform papillae (fPap) of their tongue. METHODS Sixty-two male subjects who served in the Greek military f...

The dorsal lingual surfaces of two adult Japanese marten (Martes melampus) were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Filiform, fungiform, vallate and foliate papillae were observed. A small filiform papilla on the apical surface of the tongue had several pointed processes. A small filiform papilla contained the connective tissue core consisting of several small processes. A large fil...

The G-protein subunit alpha-gustducin, which is similar to rod transducin, has been implicated in the transduction of both sweet- and bitter-tasting substances. In rodents, there are differences in sensitivity to sweet and bitter stimuli in different populations of taste buds. Rat fungiform taste buds are more responsive to salts than to sweet stimuli, whereas those on the palate respond predom...