Fungiform papilla

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)

Fungiform papilla

The mouth cavity. The cheeks have been slit transversely and the tongue pulled forward.

Section of a fungiform papilla. Magnified.
Latin	papillae fungiformes
Gray's	subject #242 1126
Dorlands/Elsevier	p_03/12610382

The fungiform papillae are mushroom shaped papillae (projections) on the tongue. They are located on the top (dorsal) surface of the tongue, scattered throughout the filiform papilla but mainly at the tip and lateral margins of the tongue. They have taste buds on their superior (upper) surface which can distinguish the five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. They have a core of connective tissue and the seventh cranial nerve, more specifically via the submandibular ganglion, chorda tympani, and geniculate ganglion ascending to the solitary nucleus (the sensory component of the Vagus nerve in the brainstem), innervates them.

Close-up view of a tongue with visible (large bumps) scattered among filiform papillae (small bumps).

[edit] References

v • d • e Sensory system: Gustatory system

Tongue	Taste bud (Circumvallate papillae, Filiform papilla, Fungiform papilla) • Foliate papillae

Path	CN (VII, IX, X) → Solitary nucleus (Gustatory nucleus) → Central tegmental tract → Ventral posteromedial nucleus → Gustatory cortex

Other	Basic tastes