Learning About Taste Buds and Their Swelling ?

Taste buds explained

Taste buds are small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, and epiglottis, which provide information about the taste of food being eaten. A taste bud will consist of a group of receptor cells, and each cell is topped with a fine, hair-like projection called a microvillus. The receptor cells are connected to a mesh of nerves, which transmit taste to the major nerve bundles including the facial nerve and the glosso-pharyngeal nerve. From there, the taste information is then sent to the brain and combined with olfactory information from the nose. Contrary to popular belief, the main organ of taste is the nose and not the tongue. Our sense of smell is thought to be about 10,000 times more acute than our sense of taste, which is why we cannot detect most food flavors when we are suffering from cold or blocked sinuses.

 The human tongue has around 10,000 taste buds. The majority of these taste buds sit on raised protrusions of the tongue surface called papillae. These are of four different types - Fungiform papillae, filiform papillae, foliate papillae and Vallate papillae. It is known that there are five taste sensations ? sweet, bitter, Unami that work with a signal through a G-protein coupled receptor and salty and sour, that work with ion channels.
 
Swollen Taste Buds ? An Overview

Swollen taste buds can be caused by a number of things. Very hot food that burns and irritates a taste bud can result into its swelling. Allergies to specific foods (depending upon the person) can also cause taste buds to swell. Taste buds that taste sweets are located on the tip of the tongue and salt taste buds are on the two side areas of the tongue tip. Sour taste buds are situated on the lateral sides of the tongue and bitter taste buds on the back of the tongue. The area of the tongue where the swollen taste bud is located can help in knowing which taste is involved. A swollen taste bud can also be a result of continually eating spicy foods that constantly over-stimulate these sense organs. Another common cause of swollen taste buds is trauma from biting the tongue.


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