Question

Taste is absent in which taste bud (papilla)?

• A. Filiform
• B. Foliate
• C. Fungiform Papilla Tash
• D. Circumvallate

Hint:

Three lingual papillae carry taste buds; only one is purely mechanical/keratinised with no taste buds.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

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

Step 2: Identify which papilla carries taste buds.
Fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae all CONTAIN taste buds and therefore participate in taste. The filiform papillae are the most numerous, are conical/keratinised, and serve a purely mechanical/tactile function (gripping food, sensing texture). They contain no taste buds, so taste is absent in them.

Step 3: Eliminate the distractors.
(B) Foliate - found on the lateral posterior tongue, contain taste buds. (C) Fungiform - mushroom-shaped, on the anterior two-thirds, contain taste buds. (D) Circumvallate - large, arranged in a V anterior to the sulcus terminalis, contain numerous taste buds. All three mediate taste, so they are excluded.

Final answer: A - Filiform papillae have no taste buds.