味蕾是舌上面、上颚和会厌表面的微型结构，其作用在于提供进食的食物的味觉的信息。

人的舌上约有10000个舌蕾。

大多数味蕾位于舌表面的突起结构上，这些突起结构被称为舌乳头。人的舌上有四种不同的舌乳头：

目前已知的有五种不同的味觉：

不同的味觉不是在舌的不同位置上被感受出来的。所有的味蕾均可识别所有的味道。

Taste buds contain the taste receptors. They are located around the small structures known as papillae found on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, the cheek and epiglottis. These structures are involved in detecting the five elements of taste pe****tion: salty, sour, bitter, sweet and umami; through the combination of these elements we detect "flavors." A popular myth assigns these different tastes to different regions of the tongue; in reality these tastes can be detected by any area of the tongue. Via small openings in the tongue epithelium, called taste pores, parts of the food dissolved in saliva come into contact with the taste receptors. These are located on top of the taste receptor cells that constitute the taste buds. The taste receptor cells send information detected by clusters of various receptors and ion channels to the gustatory areas of the brain via the seventh, ninth and tenth cranial nerves.