Mack A, Singh A, Gilroy C, Ireland W
Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
Anat Rec. 1997 Jan;247(1):33-7. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0185(199701)247:1<33::AID-AR5>3.0.CO;2-G.
Taste buds on the pig tongue have been neither studied in detail nor quantified. We have counted the numbers of fungiform and vallate papillae, estimated their taste bud densities, and computed numbers of taste buds per volume of papilla on porcine tongue. Pig was chosen for this work because it is an omnivorous animal, and is one of the better models for study of nutrition-related problems in omnivorous human beings.
Tongues from three adult pigs were obtained from the local abattoir, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, and mapped for the fungiform and vallate papillae. Serial 15 microns sections were prepared from blocks containing the papillae, and were stained by H & E. Density and volume of the taste buds were estimated using a Bioquant system.
Eight hundred fifty and 826 fungiform papillae were observed on tongue I and II, respectively; numerically vallate papillae were 1, 2, and 2 for tongue I, II and III, respectively. Number of taste buds per fungiform papilla was considerably less on the dorsal surface of the tongue (3.88/papilla) than on the lateral side (22.11/papilla). Vallate papillae contained significantly more taste buds, a mean of 732.67 per papilla (t = 14.27; df = 6; P = < 0.05), than in the fungiform papillae. Density of the buds per volume of fungiform papilla was notably less on the dorsum (13.69) than on the lateral border (30.08). The density of vallate papillae taste buds per volume of the papilla was significantly greater than the lateral and dorsal papillae taste bud density (t = 4.28; df = 6; P < or = 0.05).
The present results are relevant to studies on variations of taste sensitivity among regions of the tongue.
猪舌上的味蕾尚未得到详细研究和量化。我们已对猪舌上的菌状乳头和轮廓乳头数量进行了计数，估计了它们的味蕾密度，并计算了每单位乳头体积内的味蕾数量。选择猪进行这项研究是因为它是杂食性动物，是研究杂食性人类营养相关问题的较好模型之一。
从当地屠宰场获取三只成年猪的舌头，用10%中性缓冲福尔马林固定，并对菌状乳头和轮廓乳头进行绘图。从含有乳头的组织块制备15微米厚的连续切片，并用苏木精和伊红染色。使用Bioquant系统估计味蕾的密度和体积。
在舌头I和II上分别观察到850个和826个菌状乳头；舌头I、II和III上的轮廓乳头数量分别为1个、2个和2个。舌背表面每个菌状乳头的味蕾数量（每个乳头3.88个）明显少于舌侧面（每个乳头22.11个）。轮廓乳头含有的味蕾明显更多，每个乳头平均有732.67个（t = 14.27；自由度 = 6；P = < 0.05），多于菌状乳头。菌状乳头每单位体积的味蕾密度在舌背明显低于舌侧边缘（分别为13.69和30.08）。轮廓乳头每单位体积的味蕾密度明显高于舌侧和舌背乳头的味蕾密度（t = 4.28；自由度 = 6；P ≤ 0.05）。
目前的结果与关于舌不同区域味觉敏感性差异的研究相关。
