- Lots of folks think the bumps on the tongue are their taste buds but this is not correct. The bumps are called Papillae and their main function is to provide friction to help guide food in the mouth and control where it goes. This allows you to move food to the teeth for mastication and also to direct it to the position on the tongue that tastes best. This is done pretty much without your thinking about it. Imagine how it would be if your tongue were perfectly smooth? You wouldn't be able to control where the food was going in your mouth. Not only would it be hard to chew, food would also not taste as good. Besides, how could you eat an ice cream cone with a smooth tongue?
- The Taste Buds are actually between the Papillae so that they pick up taste based on the chemical compounds in the food mixed with saliva. The parts of the taste buds are a.) The Gustatory Receptor Cell: There are about 50 in each taste bud. They are maintained by b.) Basal and c.) Supporting cells. Each taste bud has a d.) Gustatory Hair that protrudes through the e.) Taste Pore. It is this Hair that is actually affected by the chemical makup of the food. In response to the basic tates, Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, or Umami (Savory) it sends an impulse to the Gustatory Receptor Cells which Synapse with nerve endings to send an impulse to the cerebral cortex of the brain where the stimulation is interpreted as a taste. Some scientitsts call fatty a taste as well but I am more inclined to think of fat as a vehicle for taste rather a taste of its own. I'm not a scientist, that's just my opinion.
The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.
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