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The myth of the tongue map: that 1 tastes bitter, 2 tastes sour, 3 tastes salty, and 4 tastes sweet. The tongue map or taste map is a common misconception that different sections of the tongue are exclusively responsible for different basic tastes.
Also known as benign migratory glossitis, experts cover the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of geographic tongue.
A popular assumption assigns these different tastes to different regions of the tongue; in actuality, these tastes can be detected by any area of the tongue. Via small openings in the tongue epithelium, called taste pores, parts of the food dissolved in saliva come into contact with the taste receptors. [1]
Geographic tongue, also known by several other terms, [note 1] is a condition of the mucous membrane of the tongue, usually on the dorsal surface. It is a common condition, affecting approximately 2–3% of the general population.
"COVID tongue may represent loss of taste buds or papillae on the lining of the tongue," Dr. Mehdizadeh says. Related: The #1 COVID Symptom to Look Out For, According to Infectious Disease Experts
Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds in the oral cavity, mostly on the tongue. Taste, along with the sense of smell and trigeminal nerve stimulation (registering texture, pain, and temperature), determines flavors of food and other substances.
The loss of smell and taste has long been associated with COVID-19 — it was one of the earliest symptoms associated with the virus that differentiated it from other illnesses.
The gustatory cortex is the primary receptive area for taste. The word taste is used in a technical sense to refer specifically to sensations coming from taste buds on the tongue. The five qualities of taste detected by the tongue include sourness, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and the protein taste quality, called umami.