Taste

Question 1

What are the five primary tastes?

Answer 1

Bitter, Sweet, Salty, Sour, Umami

Question 2

Where are the receptors for taste located?

Answer 2

tongue, soft palate, lining of the cheeks, pharynx, larynx.

Question 3

What type of cells from the receptors for the sense of taste?

Answer 3

sensory cells

Question 4

Describe the structure of a taste bud.

Answer 4

About 50 afferent fibers enter each taste bud, where they branch so that each axon synapses with more than one sensory cell. Among the sensory cells are elongated supporting cells, which don’t have synaptic connections. The sensory cells typically have a lifespan of 10 days. They are continually replenished by new sensory cells formed from the basal cells of the lower part of the taste bud.

Question 5

Are gustatory receptors primary or secondary receptors?

Answer 5

Secondary receptors

Question 6

What cranial nerves transmit taste?

Answer 6

VII, IX, X