Structure and physiological properties of the taste organs on the ventral side of frog tongue (Rana catesbeiana)

Abstract

The structure and physiological properties of the non-papillary taste organs on the ventral side of frog tongue were examined. The taste organs were distributed around the hyoglossal muscle of the tongue. The total number of organs was estimated as about 100. The fine structure of the taste organs was similar to that of the fungiform papilla. Neural responses recorded from the glossopharyngeal nerve by applying chemical stimuli to the ventral side of the tongue were noticeably smaller than those to the dorsal side of the tongue. The taste cells on the ventral side of the tongue generated receptor potentials to various chemical stimuli like those on the dorsal side of the tongue.