670 



SPECIAL SENSES. 



on the fungiform papillae. Their structure is very simple. They consist of 

 flask-like collections of spindle-shaped cells, which are received into little 

 excavations in the epithelial covering of the mucous membrane, the bottom 

 resting upon the connective-tissue layer. Their form is ovoid, and at the 

 neck of each flask, is a rounded opening, called the taste-pore. Their length 

 i g T~O t -g-Ju of an inch (71 to 83 /A), and their transverse diameter, about 

 -g-^ of an inch (41 //,). The cavity of the taste-beakers is filled with cells, of 

 which two kinds are described. The first variety, the outer cells, or the cover- 

 cells, are spindle-shaped, and curved to correspond to the wall of the beaker. 

 These come to a point at the taste-pore. In the interior of the beaker are 

 elongated cells, with large, clear nuclei, which are called taste-cells. Accord- 

 ing to Engelmann, delicate, hair-like processes are connected with the taste- 

 cells and extend through the taste-pores, in the form of very fine filaments. 



Bodies similar to the taste-beak- 

 ers have been found on the pa- 

 pillae of the soft palate and uvula, 

 the mucous membrane of the epi- 

 glottis and some parts of the top 

 of the larynx. As regards these 

 structures in the tongue, it has 

 been found that four or five 

 months after section of the glosso- 

 pharyngeal on one side in rabbits, 



FIG. m.-Taste-beakers, from the lateral tasteorgan of the taste-buds On the Correspond- 

 the rabbit (Engelmann). j ng g ^ e Q f tne posterior portion of 



the tongue disappear, while they remain perfect on the sound side (Vintsch- 

 gau and Honigschmied). 



According to the views of those who have described the so-called taste- 

 beakers, sapid solutions find their way into the interior of these structures 

 through the taste-pores and come in contact with the taste-cells, these eel 

 being directly connected with the terminal filaments of the gustatory nerves. 



Ferrier has described a taste-centre near the so-called olfactory centre in 

 the unicate gyrus ; but his observations are not very definite, and the location 

 of a centre for gustation must be regarded as undetermined. 





