Lingual papillae

In living subjects, lingual papillae are more readily seen when the tongue is dry. They are responsible for giving the tongue its texture and are responsible for the sensation of touch. Unlike the other kinds of papillae, filiform papillae do not contain taste buds. They are located on the sides at the back of the tongue, just in front of the palatoglossal arch of the fauces. The circumvallate papillae get special afferent taste innervation from cranial nerve IX, the glossopharyngeal nerve, even though they are anterior to the sulcus terminalis. The rest of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue gets taste innervation from the chorda tympani of cranial nerve VII, distributed with the lingual nerve of cranial nerve V. ==Function==

Lingual papillae, particularly filiform papillae, are thought to increase the surface area of the tongue and to increase the area of contact and friction between the tongue and food. This may increase the tongue's ability to manipulate a bolus of food, and also to position food between the teeth during mastication (chewing) and swallowing. ==Clinical significance==

Depapillation In some diseases, there can be depapillation of the tongue, where the lingual papillae are lost, leaving a smooth, red and possibly sore area. Examples of depapillating oral conditions include geographic tongue, median rhomboid glossitis and other types of glossitis. The term glossitis, particularly atrophic glossitis is often used synonymously with depapillation. Where the entire dorsal surface of the tongue has lost its papillae, this is sometimes termed "bald tongue". Other sources state that foliate papilitis refers to inflammation of the lingual tonsil, which is lymphoid tissue. ==Other animals==

Seven types of papillae are described in domestic mammals, with their presence and distribution being species-specific: -Mechanical papillae: filiform, conical, lentiform, marginal; -Taste papillae: fungiform, circumvallate, foliate Foliate papillae are fairly rudimentary structures in humans, representing evolutionary vestiges of similar structures in many other mammals. ==Additional images==

File:Gray1014.png|The mouth. The cheeks have been slit transversely and the tongue pulled forward. File:Slide9uuu.JPG|Papillae and other tongue landmarks Image:Papillae foliatae.jpg|Foliate papillae File:Slide1kaka.JPG|Floor of mouth. Deep dissection. Anterior view. File:Slide2kaka.JPG|Floor of mouth. Deep dissection. Anterior view. File:Filiform papillae.jpg|A picture showing filiform papillae taken using a USB microscope. ==References==