Taste perception is the conversion of the energy of external stimulus into the act of consciousness. The taste organ, irritated by the stimuli, converses the energy of irritation into a nerve impulse. The activity of various organs of senses is interdependent. The interaction of the sensory organs in some cases leads to the increase in sensitivity or sensitization, and in others to its decrease, i.e., to desensitization. The organoleptic perception of taste by a human depends on the concentration of the substance, its temperature and the duration of contact. Four essential tastes are distinguished in nature: sweet, bitter, salty and sour, therefore, no several types of sweet or other tastes, except the basic ones, exist. Moreover, each of them can be richer, more expressive or blind, depending on the concentration of the stimulus. Taste perception occurs only when a substance that comes into contact with a taste bud is dissolved in a liquid. In children, the number of taste buds is more numerous than in adults. Taste buds (peripheral part of the taste organ) are located in the depth of the fungiform, foliate and vallate papillae of the tongue. The anterior tongue is the most sensitive to sweet, the posterior tongue to bitter, and the lateral parts of the tongue to sour and salty. Taste buds are composed of taste sensory, supporting and basal cells. Taste sensory cells are activated by the contact with taste molecules of substances dissolved in the oral fluid. Supporting cells make up the outer part of the bud and form the pore wall. Basal cells are fine, poorly differentiated, are divided intensively and located at the base of the taste bud and ensure their regeneration. The conductive part of the taste organ is formed by the nerve fibers of the facial, lingual-pharyngeal and vagus cranial nerves, which end in the cortical centers in the cortex beyond the central gyrus and uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus.

Keywords: taste organ, taste bud, tongue papillae

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