Question

Taste absent in which taste bud?

• A. Filliform
• B. Foliate
• C. Papilla
• D. Circumvallate

Hint:

Which tongue papilla is the only one with no taste buds and is purely mechanical?

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Recall the four types of tongue papillae. The dorsum of the tongue carries filiform, fungiform, foliate and circumvallate (vallate) papillae.

Step 2: Match papillae to taste buds.
- Fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae carry taste buds and therefore subserve the sense of taste.
- Filiform papillae are the only papillae that contain NO taste buds. They are the most numerous, conical, keratinised projections whose role is purely mechanical - providing friction/grip and general (touch) sensation - not gustation.

Step 3: Apply to the question. Since taste is absent in the papilla that lacks taste buds, the answer is the filiform papilla. Hence option A is correct.

Step 4: Exclude the distractors.
- Foliate (B): leaf-like folds on the lateral posterior tongue that DO contain taste buds.
- Papilla (C): a generic term, not a specific taste-bud-free type; too vague to be the answer.
- Circumvallate (D): the large V-shaped papillae anterior to the sulcus terminalis that are richly supplied with taste buds.

Final answer: A. Filliform (filiform).