SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY OF FUNGIFORM PAPILLAE ON TONGUE OF MAN AND MONKEY

The surface topography of the fungiform papillae of man and monkey [Cercopithecus sp. and cynomolgus sp.] was studied by scanning EM. Different methods of specimen preparation were tried. Satisfactory preservation was obtained with fixation in formaldehyde, or in glutaraldehyde with postfixation in OsO4, followed by critical point drying. Taste pores were found in nearly half of the fungiform papillae. Up to 3 pores, located in the dorsal surface, were observed in a single papilla. Most taste pores opened in the form of a rounded crater with a diameter of about 5-7 .mu.m, elevated slightly above the surface of the papilla. Microvilli could be observed in large-bore pores.