Taste bud in action

Transcript

Each taste bud contains 30–50 taste receptor cells arranged like a bunch of bananas. Each cell has tiny hair-like structures, called microvilli, that stick up towards the taste bud surface and form a taste pore. 

Taste molecules of food touch the taste pores and bind to the microvilli. These ‘tastes’ are changed into chemical and electrical messages, which travel along the nerves to the brain, where the tastes are identified. 

Video: University of Waikato