Taste bud

A taste bud is a cluster of sensory cells, usually embedded in a papilla of the tongue, that detects dissolved chemicals and sends taste signals to the nervous system.

Taste receptor cell: A specialized epithelial cell that detects taste stimuli and communicates with sensory neurons. These cells within a taste bud detect chemicals and initiate its signals.
Lingual papilla: A small projection on the tongue, several types of which contain taste buds. Many taste buds sit within papillae on the tongue's surface.
Sweetness: The taste quality commonly elicited by sugars and certain other compounds. Taste buds detect sweet compounds through specialized molecular pathways.
Olfactory receptor neuron: A sensory neuron in the nasal epithelium that detects odor molecules. It detects airborne odorants, unlike taste cells sampling dissolved chemicals in the mouth.
Taste transduction: The process by which taste stimuli produce electrical or chemical signals in sensory cells. It explains how chemicals reaching a taste bud become neural messages.
Taste bud cell types: The distinct supporting, receptor, and presynaptic cell classes found in taste buds. Different cell classes divide sensing, support, and signaling within a bud.
Umami: The savory taste quality associated especially with glutamate and some nucleotides. Taste buds have receptors that respond to glutamate and related compounds.
Trigeminal nerve: A cranial nerve that carries facial sensation, including oral temperature, pain, and irritation. Its signals convey burning or cooling sensations often mistaken for tastes.
Taste receptor: A molecular sensor that binds or responds to compounds associated with a taste quality. Receptors on taste cells recognize compounds entering the bud's pores.
Basal cell: A progenitor cell that helps replace mature cells in taste buds. Basal cells replenish the bud's short-lived sensory and supporting cells.

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