# Tongue and taste study — 2026-09-30

Original SomaLens procedural geometry and generated microrelief textures in app/tongue-model.ts. No third-party mesh or reference photograph is embedded. The study opens from the additional-details button after selecting the native atlas tongue, retaining the underlying body view on return.

The surface view depicts a moist rounded tongue, median groove, anterior filiform and fungiform papillae, nine representative vallate papillae in a posterior-pointing V, posterolateral foliate folds, and representative posterior root nodules. Filiform papillae have no taste buds. The sagittal cutaway has a closed tissue face, representative interlacing muscle bundles, septal fibres, vascular branches, and von Ebner gland lobules and a duct.

The separate microscopic view depicts an ovoid taste bud in an opened epithelial surround, elongated receptor and supporting cells, basal cells, apical pore and microvilli, and afferent fibres. Cell colors, counts, sizes and routes are illustrative. This is not a biopsy reconstruction or scan. It does not show every cell subtype, vessel, gland or muscle attachment, and it does not imply exclusive taste zones on the tongue.

Sources consulted for anatomy and histological appearance, not copied as assets:

- University of Leeds, Tongue: https://histology.leeds.ac.uk/home/oral/tongue/
- NIDCD, Taste Disorders (normal taste physiology): https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/taste-disorders
- Tufts University, Fungiform Papillae with Taste Buds: https://sites.tufts.edu/histologyimages/digestive-system-oral-cavity/429/fungiform-papillae-with-taste-buds/

Original code and generated geometry/textures follow the repository MIT license.