Physiology - Taste and Smell Flashcards
Which type of receptors are taste and smell receptors?
Chemoreceptors
How is taste perception influenced?
Smell receptors
What are the sense organs of taste?
Taste buds
What is the life span of a taste bud?
10 days
Taste receptor cells are replaced with what?
Basal cells
Where are taste buds mainly present?
- Tongue
- Palate
- Epiglottis
- Pharynx
What are the most abundant type of papillae on the tongue?
Filiform
How is a depolarising receptor potential initiated within taste buds?
Taste provoking chemicals bind to receptor cells allowing ionic channels to open
How do afferent taste fibres reach the brainstem?
Chorda tympani (anterior 2/3rds)
Glossopharyngeal nerve (posterior 1/3rd)
Vagus nerve (other areas associated with taste)
How many primary tastes are there?
5
Which cell types are present in the olfactory mucosa?
- Olfactory receptor cells
- Supporting cells
- Basal cells (secrete mucous)
What comprises olfactory receptors?
Specialised endings of renewable afferent neurones
Each neurone associated with the olfactory receptors has what at one end?
Olfactory rod (expanded area)
What projects from the surface of the olfactory mucosa?
Cilia
(to which odourants bind)
What act as precursors for new olfactory cells?
Basal cells