VISUALIZING TASTE PAPILLAE IN-VIVO WITH SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION CAST

A method using polyvinylsiloxane (PVS), a high-resolution dental impre ssion material, to obtain negative images of lingual surfaces is descr ibed. Epoxy-resin tongue replicas made from these impressions were exa mined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This method has been de veloped to visualize structural details of the tongue surface of livin g human beings and laboratory animals. The utility of the method is de monstrated with hamster tongues, which have well-defined fungiform pap illae with single taste pores, and human tongues, which have more vari able surface structures. Replicas made from PVS impressions of tongues of living hamsters were compared with the same tongues after fixation . The replicas contained much of the detail present in fixed tongues. With SEM, it was possible to identify individual fungiform papillae, w hich contained depressions with the size and the location of hamster t aste pores. Individual papillae could also be recognized in human-tong ue replicas, but taste pores could not be identified with certainty. T hese replicas provide permanent, three-dimensional records of tongue t opography that could be used to document changes due to trauma, diseas e and aging.