taste bud
Tongue's flavor detector
A taste bud is one of the small sensory organs on the tongue that detect flavors—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
The term often appears figuratively to describe someone's palate or flavor preferences: Her taste buds crave spicy food.
The dessert was a treat for the taste buds.
- papillaeSmall tissue protrusions
- tongueOral muscle for taste
- gustationSense of flavor
- umamiFifth taste sensation
- flavor profileFood's characteristic taste combination
bitter · chemoreceptor · palate · mouth feel · sour · miso · dashi · sweet · oral cavity · flavor · savor · microvilli · tingle · sensory receptors · saliva · salty · delicious · comfort food
sensory receptor type
taste budphotoreceptor
Cell responding to light
rod cell · cone cell · hair cell · mechanoreceptor · thermoreceptor
sensory modality
taste budnose
Olfactory facial organ
photoreceptor · mechanoreceptor · thermoreceptor · pain receptor · cochlea