1434 



HUMAN ANATOMY. 



has been variously estimated, but it is probable that from loo to 150 represents the 

 maximum for a single papilla, in many cases the quota being less than one half 



Fig. 1 194. 



Annular 



wall sui- 



rounding 



papilla 



Epithelium 



Serous glands 



Muscle of tongue 





"^m 



Section ol circunivallate papilla from tongue ol child. ,< 70. 



Fig. 



II95- 



of these figures (Graberg). The locality of next importance numerically is the 

 papillae foliatae on the sides of the tongue in the furrows of which, even in man, 

 the taste-buds are plentiful. 



Additional situations, in which, however, the taste-buds are very sparingly and 

 uncertainly distributed, include the fungiform papillae, the soft palate, the posterior 

 surface of the epiglottis and the mesial surface of the arytenoid cartilages. Within 



the fungiform papillae a few buds may be found on 

 the free surface, where the epithelium is thinnest. 

 Over the soft palate their distribution is irregular 

 and uncertain, while in the larynx the buds are lim- 

 ited to the areas covered by squamous epithelium. 

 According to Davis, between fifty and sixty taste- 

 buds of varying size may be counted on the 

 epiglottis within an area 3 mm. in diameter. 



Structure. — Wherever found, the taste-buds 

 consist exclusively of epithelial tissue and, in cor- 

 respondence with other sense organs, include two 

 chief varieties of elements — the supporting cells 

 and the more highly specialized neuro-epithelium, 

 the gustatory cells, among which lie the terminal 

 fibrillae of the nerve of taste. 



The supporting cells are represented prin- 

 cipally by elongated epithelial elements that occupy 

 both the superficial and deeper parts of the taste- 

 buds of which they contribute the chief bulk. They 

 vary in their individual contour, being lanceolate, 

 wedge-shaped or columnar, according to the model- 

 ling to which they are subjected by the neighboring 

 cells. They possess large, clear, vesicular nuclei 

 that contain little chromatin and, therefore, stain 

 laintly. The position of the nucleus is incon.stant, in some cells being near the 

 base and in others in the middle or nearer the apex. The peripheral ends of the 



Taste-bud 



Taste-buds in section ; upper one shows 

 gustatory hairs projecting into pore-canal. 

 X 440- 



