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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1986 Aug;83(16):6103–6106. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.6103

Taste and salivary function.

J M Weiffenbach, P C Fox, B J Baum
PMCID: PMC386447  PMID: 3461477

Abstract

Human taste perception was remarkably unimpaired in eight individuals with severe, chronic failure of all major and minor salivary gland function. Subjective reports of taste experience and objective measures of suprathreshold sensitivity were within normal limits for the overwhelming majority of these individuals. Impairments of threshold sensitivity for at least one quality was common, but normal thresholds for all four qualities were observed in one individual. These data demonstrated that the functional integrity of the taste system is not dependent upon the presence of normal saliva in the mouth. Thus, the suggestion that a salivary factor is responsible for the maintenance of taste receptor end organs can be rejected and attention directed toward other mechanisms, not dependent on saliva, that might account for the unusual resistance of these cells to environmental insult.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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