SENSE OF TASTE

1. The tongue is the sensory organ related to the sense of taste.

2. It is sensitive to four basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

3. The surface of the tongue is covered with little bumps. These bumps contains tiny structures called taste 
    buds. Each taste bud contains many taste receptors which are sensitive to chemicals in food.
4. There are four types of taste buds , one for each basic taste. Different areas of the tongue are sensitive to
    different tastes. Refer to the diagram;
5. How taste detected ;
a) When we chew our food, the chemicals of the food dissolve in the salive.
b) The dissolved chemicals stimulate the taste receptors in the taste buds to
    produce nerve impulses.
c) Messages are sent to the brain to be interpreted. This enables us to identify
    the taste of the food.

6. The nasal cavity and the mouth cavity are connected. This allows the taste and
    smell of food in the mouth to be detected at the same time.