Anatomy and Physiology - Chapter 11 - Taste, Smell, Touch, and Pain

Gustatory Sense

The sense of taste

Papillae

Tiny bumps that cover the tongue; each contains several taste receptors (taste buds)

Taste Buds

Send signals to the brain via three distinct cranial nerves; one nerve detects the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, the second the posterior portion of the tongue, and the third the throat area

5 Tastes (excluding Oleogustus)

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Umami

Sweet

Sweetness is produced by the presence of sugars, some proteins, and a few other substances

Sour

Sourness is the taste that detects acids. The mechanism for detecting sour taste is similar to that which detects salt taste

Salty

Saltiness is a taste produced by the presence of sodium chloride. The ions of salt, especially sodium, can pass directly through ion channels in the tongue, leading to an action potential

Bitter

Bitterness is the taste that detects bases. Many people find bitter tastes to be unpleasant; many alkaloids taste bitter.

Umami

Umami is included with the traditional four because it is the distinct taste of glutamates, which can’t be duplicated by the combination of any of the other four tastes

Olfactory Sense

Sense of smell

Sense of Smell

Arises from the receptors located in the olfactory region, or the upper part of the nasal cavity

Tactile Corpuscles

Touch receptors that are small rounded bodies, located in the skin, especially concentrated in the fingertips and the tip of the tongue

Adaptation

Occurs when sensory stimulation is continuously applied, changing your perception of temperature

Pain

Our body’s way of making us pay attention to danger; the most widely distributed sense, being found in skin, muscle, joints, and internal organs

Referred Pain

Originates in an internal organ and is felt in another region of the skin

Phantom Pain

Pain felt in an area that no longer exists